Shaiya Chronicles: Evolution
by Woodsballer
Summary: Every story, every moment has led to this. A battle since the beginning of time is coming to fruition. Only four guardians bound by destiny can have any hope of stopping it. Shaiya Chronicles 4. Rated for violence and language. OCXOC COMPLETE
1. Chapter Zero

**Shaiya Chronicles:**

**Evolution**

**Legal: Pokemon is owned by Nintendo and is not used here for profit in any way. Shaiya Chronicles and all related characters and themes are my own property and may not be used without permission. Luca is property of Debbie Aaron Primal and is used with permission. Any items/themes here resembling anyone else's work or property is entirely coincidental.**

**A/N: For a limited time, visit my profile for a special poll where you can influence the path of this story.**

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**Chapter Zero**

_Life is a story. Stories become History. History becomes Legend._

Millennia ago, the universe was devoid of all substance, so the Great Spirit set forth to create.

Arceus, with his power, formed the stars and scattered them far and wide. He then made a single, perfect planet, earth. To inhabit his planet, he created the shaiyas and the humans.

But Eldryn, Arceus's brother, was jealous. To prove he was just as powerful, he brought a shaiya and a human together and created the Mäyto, a race with the intelligence of humans but with the mighty power of the shaiyas. But Eldryn imbued into the Mäyto his own greed. They quickly swept across the planet, conquering or killing anyone in their path.

Arceus was not pleased. Eldryn had gone too far. Using his power, he destroyed the Mäyto, so that all others could have peace.

Eldryn could not accept being a lesser. In a fit of rage, he abandoned the realm of the Spirits, swearing that he would one day create the perfect race of creatures and surpass Arceus.

_Legends become Myth._

Through the ages, humanity and shaiyas forgot about their origins, relying instead on their science for answers.

Yet all the while, the Spirits watch: guarding, protecting, and sometimes punishing.

Waiting for the time when Eldryn shall once again come forth.


	2. 1 Hopeless Cause

**Chapter 1**

**A Hopeless Cause**

Sam sighed heavily, letting her gaze fall to the solid oak table. She had almost memorized the design of swirls, she had stared at it so many times.

The panel of people sitting around the table held their stern faces. "We are sorry. But there is no way we can keep people from expanding. Even if there are Pokemon, that is not good enough."

"But there are whole clans out there where you're planning on building!" she answered back.

"We have not found any record showing large populations."

"Of course you wouldn't. They hate you humans. Whenever someone comes even close, they go into hiding."

"I'm sorry. But the answer is no."

She looked at each one in turn and then left with a sigh.

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The sun almost blinded her as she walked through the rotating doors. People walked along the street, creating a moderate crowd. Several took second looks at her as she crossed the road.

It was funny how everyone paid her so much more attention than others.

News of her had exploded within days of her appearance in a small town off of Veridian City. Humans from everywhere had crushed her for attention. Apparently many had been waiting for the Shaiya, which was a much more special term in their culture, to return. It had been torture for nearly a moon before they let her be.

She still made news occasionally when she did something out of the ordinary. But the humans shouldn't blame her. She wasn't raised on human standards. Even moons after arriving in their cities, she still didn't completely understand their ways. Especially things like money.

Her memories faded as she sat heavily on a bench across from Standard Housing, Inc. It was her fourth attempt to convince humans with power that their expansion was harming shaiyas. It was also her fourth failure.

She let her head fall into her hands. She would probably be lucky if she convinced anyone.

"Are you alright, Miss?"

She looked up. A tall man, possibly early twenties, stood over her. He had a black T-shirt with an open blue button-down shirt over slightly torn jeans. He looked concerned.

She forced a smile. "I'm fine. Thanks."

"Alright." He put on a smile as well. "Just checking."

He looked back twice as he walked away. But her eyes were on the tall building before her and didn't notice.

----------

Braun clicked his radio. "She is outside. Get ready to move."

Two seconds later, "Roger."

He let go of his radio and refocused the lens on the girl three hundred yards away. Three others would be doing the same.

----------

She stood up and worked her way through the crowd. It was just past noon and there were not many people. Not many people to watch her.

She turned left, walked three blocks, then turned right. Ten minutes later, she was at the Grand Park. She stepped through the large iron gates, thankful to finally leave the massive metal jungle of the city. This was where she loved to be: connected to nature.

There were a few joggers along the paths. She could hear some shaiyas with their trainers a short ways off. Too many eyes were watching.

She pushed herself through a group of bushes and behind a cluster of trees. With another sigh, this one from relief, she let her body go. A quick shrug removed the loose clothing from her Eevee form. She would return for them later.

The breeze blew through her fur as she stepped out into the open. She would love to simply form a nest somewhere in here and forget about everything around her.

But she knew she couldn't do that. She did what she did in remembrance of Feuer. And she had to keep trying.

She walked among the trees, eating berries here and there. She had tried human food and had found a few tasty items, but fresh berries were still her preferred food.

A large crash stopped her and drew her attention. In the field next to her, an Onix was fighting a Gardevoir. She stopped and watched as the Onix brought his glowing tail towards its opponent, but the Gardevoir threw up a Reflect that stopped the attack. With a spin, the elegant shaiya floated around the snake until it was above and held out a hand, psychic energy flowing across the snake, causing it to shriek.

Sam didn't know what caused shaiyas to want to battle each other. It looked painful. She had never tried to fight anyone yet. She hadn't even turned into anything besides a human, even! Feuer had managed to change into many shaiyas, so why hadn't she yet?

The battle ended and each shaiya went to their respective trainers. Suddenly, the two that had looked to be fighting to the death were smiling and laughing like old friends.

Maybe simply stopping human expansion wasn't the answer. Adjusting their way of expansion to live in harmony with shaiyas would be better, perhaps.

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His vision focused through the trees. There was too much coverage. "Motion." A lens slid down inside the monocular. Everything went black, with white ripples coming out. The other trees shifted gently in the breeze, but a battle on the other side dominated the area, creating rippling pools that resembled Pokemon and trainers. Infared wouldn't work; it was too bright.

He thumbed his radio. "R2, do you have a visual?"

"Affirmative, R1. Target is under the trees observing the battle, which is quite a sight, I might add."

"Focus, R2!" he growled.

"R…right, sir. Target is moving north."

Braun mumbled under his breath. He hated working in Recon. He was a Hunter. He wanted to kill and capture, not watch and lead others to it! Plus the other men in Recon were idiots. "You read that, Pick-Up 1?"

"This is P1. We copy. Moving to the North Gate."

He picked up his monocular and descended the fire escape to the ground level. According to protocol, R4 to the east would slide north to cover and he would take up that position. They couldn't lose sight of her.

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Something was wrong. She didn't know why or what, but something in the air was off, as if the whole space was pressing in on her. Her eyes darted through the trees. There was nothing that she could see.

A flash. It came from the building just outside the park. Or had it? She couldn't see anything now. But it was far away. She turned left, heading back for the west gate.

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"Target has advanced to level 3."

Braun resettled into his previous position. This was where things got interesting. Level 3 meant the target was alerted to something, but didn't know exactly what. They would lose a good deal of their surprise, and the whole operation could go south with a minor slip.

"Target is moving west."

A slip just like this. R2 was at the west gate! "R2, get out, now!"

"I can't. Too many civilians. She should still be… Shit!"

Braun zoomed in. The Eevee leapt through a tree, running at a killing sprint.

"Level 1! Target is at Level 1 moving south! Pick-up 3, get ready!"

He smiled. Now it got fun.


	3. 2 The Chase

**Chapter 2**

**The Chase**

She left her clothes. If she didn't get them later, she had more at the cave just outside of the city.

That man was after her. Her instincts told her more than well enough that a man in black watching her was a bad sign. If her guess was right, that flash had been some kind of watching device by some friends of his. And if there were two, there may be more.

But if she could get out of the city and into the forest, she would be able to hide easily. IF she could get there.

Within a minute, she ran through Grand Park's south gate. A ring of men was waiting for her. They all wore black outfits with a large red R across the chest. Each one held a tube-like device with a handle and trigger. They looked eerily similar to guns.

One straight ahead pulled the trigger. The gun released a puff of smoke and something flew from the darkness. Sam instinctively ducked to the side as a small bluish orb flew past her head. _"A Pokeball."_ They were trying to capture her.

"Open fire."

But she was already on the move. She broke right, just avoiding a stream of orbs that crashed together. She jumped between two of the assailants and kept running.

But another group of them came around a corner in front of her and fired. She turned and moved down an alley. Behind her, she heard several gasps of pain. They had hit their own men. If she weren't running for her life, she would have laughed.

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Braun was practically beside himself with aggravation. The pick-up teams had failed miserably. What little chance of surprise they had at the gate was now completely gone. And now that she was outside of their company circle, the probability of a successful capture was down to near zero.

But he wasn't willing to give up yet. Back in his days as a Hunter, he took targets down single-handedly. Of course, he had better equipment then. At the moment, the only real offensive tool he had was a pistol, which would not work at bringing the target in unharmed. But a real Hunter could do any job, regardless of gear.

"_The lower equipped, the higher the challenge."_

He was nearing the next wide street. A three-foot gap between buildings was to his left, where the target was running now. Ahead, about thirty yards and closing, was a fifty-yard jump to the next building on the other side.

He slid to a stop at the building edge and looked down. The brown clump of fur ran straight across, dodging pedestrians. That direction led to the banking district of the city.

Rule one of hunting: know your target. Even though she was the Shaiya, she would rather run and hide than fight. Months of observation had taught them that. The first chance she had, she would run down an alley or into a building.

Rule two: know the hunting zone. A map instantly popped into his head. Directly across was a maze of alleys. She would only get herself trapped.

"Squads on me. South towards Sector 6." He didn't really need them. In fact, it would have been more fun to risk going it alone. But he knew Roth wouldn't approve.

He took two steps back before leaning forward and shoving off. He placed one foot on the lip of the building and pushed off and up.

Any man would think him an idiot. No one sane would jump from a three-story building. But Braun knew something any other man didn't. His boots had special pads. This jump was simple. Dr. Roth may be crazy, but he did make some high-grade equipment.

He flew through the air, hands by his side. The street passed by below. People probably looked up in awe, but he wasn't watching. As he approached the next building, he moved his legs forward for the impact. As he touched, he tucked forward and fell to his shoulder, the momentum taking him into a roll. Without breaking time, he rose to his feet and kept running.

She would be entering the alley now. He'd have to lead her down the right one and trap her. His hand slipped back as they pumped and pulled out five small orbs from his belt. One went into his other hand as he approached a turn-off from the alley. He gave it a quick squeeze and dropped it in as he jumped over. A second later, he heard a bang and a yelp. The "bangers" weren't lethal, but they worked for scare tactics.

He jumped across to the other side. This alley went to a corner, another turn-off that was a dead-end, and later more branches. By jumping corners, he could outrun her, plant the bangers in the branches, and scare her back to the trap.

Simple yet brilliant.

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She was running blind. She had never been to this part of the city and didn't know where she was going. But the shots from that alley told her to just keep running.

She ran into a trashcan making the ninety-degree turn, startling a Meowth inside. He screamed at her. She kept running.

Another branch came up on her left and she took it. She glanced back. No one was catching up to her. Maybe they didn't see her take this alley.

Her eyes turned back forward just in time. A massive brick wall loomed before her. She forced her paws into the asphalt, nearly shredding them, and slid to a stop just in front of it. It had to be at least 9 feet high, way too high for her to jump.

That's fine. She'd just go back and keep going down the same alley again.

Another shot, this time from back and left, the path she was about to take. They had her completely surrounded now. There were no trashcans, no doorways, nothing for her to hide behind. She was trapped.

"Let's go!" Footsteps. They were getting closer.

Someone suddenly slipped down next to her. She jumped momentarily, her claws ready to strike, but she froze when she got a look at him. He wasn't wearing the uniform of the others. He wore a black shirt and blue vest.

It was the same guy from earlier.

He stepped forward, standing in the middle of the alley and facing her. "Whatever happens, stay close to me."

She didn't answer; she was too afraid and startled. But she became amazed at what he did next.

He placed his palms together. As he did, blue fur sprang from his hands and traveled along his body. The backs of his hands grew small silver nubs. His face lengthened, creating a short muzzle. His hair clumped and grew into two bluish ponytail-like pieces. And within a second, he had taken on a form somewhere between a human and a Riolu.

Sam watched, her mouth open in silent fear and amazement as his hands and eyes began to glow blue. His hands came apart, moved in a circle before his chest, and then flew apart until they were stretched to each side.

"Dimension Sphere!"

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He returned to the building, his bangers still going off. The rest of the pick-up teams were running through the alley while the Recon came along the rooftops. But he would be there first.

Braun came to a stop in front of the alley, a grin starting to form. She was trapped like an animal.

But his grin quickly shattered.

All he saw was a sphere of blue light. And a split second later, even that vanished, leaving only an empty alley.

**A/N: Now that you've read the chapter, would you be so kind as to leave a review? It really helps an author when the reader shares their thoughts. Did you enjoy it? Hate it? Have any questions? Anything will do.**


	4. 3 Change of Plans

**Chapter 3**

**Change of Plans**

**A/N: I would like to say a few things before I start. PLEASE READ THESE!!!**

**Why is nobody reviewing this story? It's gotten more than a hundred hits so far, but only a handful of reviews. Come on, people. I'm begging you. Even if it's negative. If you think my story deserves a flame, I'll break out the marshmallows myself. Don't leave me hanging. (Please note, this does not refer to those that ARE leaving reviews. To those people, thank you very much and keep it up.)**

**2) If you have yet to do so, please go to my profile and vote in the poll. And you know what, tell a couple friends that don't even read the story and have them vote. I don't care. I just need more input. I have gone ahead and decided that if I don't get enough votes to make a definitive decision, I'll have to use my own choice of Legendary, and I don't think anyone will like who I've chosen.**

**OK, my rants are over. You may read now.**

**----------**

"_What?!"_

Braun froze, and slowly did a double take. The dead-end alley, where a trapped Eevee should be, held nothing. But what was that blue light?

The rest of the Rockets turned the corner not a second later. They too were expecting an easy target. Only there was nothing.

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Except for that fateful day with Feuer, Sam couldn't remember ever being more afraid.

Everything around her had gone black and white. A mysterious wind seemed to sweep the colors together, creating a surreal, almost horrific world that gave her chills. It was cold.

And before her stood the strange creature that had appeared only seconds ago. Besides her, he was the only things that remained in color and unaffected by the strange wind.

Her body seemed to suddenly find her legs. She backed towards the large red wall behind her.

"No," the Riolu-morph grunted through clenched teeth. "Stay still. I can't make the sphere any bigger." His whole body glowed with a blue aura. Every muscle in his body was pulled taught, straining against some invisible force.

She didn't know what to do. Here was someone that she didn't know telling her to trust him. He could be one of them for all she knew.

And speaking of them, they flew around the corner just then. It was hard for her to see with all of the swirling black and white, but she could easily see that they were somehow confused. And then it hit her. They were all looking through her. As if they didn't see her.

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One of the squad sergeants quickly took charge. "Three mile search from this spot! Go until Recon gives any intel. Move!" The men on the ground quickly dispersed.

Braun sat, looking at the spot. Something was off. But what?

"Orders, sir?"

He looked up at the three other Recons. They all looked at him.

Before answering, he checking his suit's readings. "My suit's dry. Search pattern Gamma. I'm heading back." They turned to move out. "And 2!" One of them stopped while the others jumped off. "Meet me the moment you get back to base." As soon as it was spoken, the man was off.

He looked back down. There were only three ways out of that alley. The most obvious would be back through the other alleys. But he had easily blocked them off and the others had been filled with men. One could climb the walls, but she wouldn't have been able to in her form. A Pokemon could teleport out. That was a distinct possibility; their target was a Shaiya. But she hadn't transformed yet, and he highly doubted she would for whatever reason.

So how had she done it?

He would dwell on this later. But just to be certain, he pulled a small clear capsule from a thick, padded pocket and flicked it into the alley. It flew towards the back and shattered onto the ground. Perhaps she had found a cubbyhole that he had missed. Highly unlikely after all of his training, but all humans erred.

Now, he had to return, report, and make a demand.

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The blue light faded from around his body and the color returned to the world around them. Then he suddenly collapsed to his seat.

Sam, being the kind soul, quickly rushed to him. "Are you alright?"

He touched her shoulder. The blue fur faded, and he returned to a normal human form. "I'm fine." With her help, he rose to his feet. "We should go."

He picked her up and, using the buildings, leapt over the wall.

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Twenty minutes later, Braun pushed through the back door to the massive Silph Tower. No one took a second glance at him as he walked through the back halls, even though he was more than a sore thumb amidst the suits of businessmen. Five months of stationing here and they had already learned to ignore it.

He went to a service elevator and stepped inside. He waited for the doors to close before reaching for the panel. He quickly hit the button sequence that served as a password, whispering the numbers under his breath in time. "11, 3, 12, 52, B." At the same time, he pulled off his helmet, letting cool air over his cropped dark-blonde hair.

A panel opened on the back wall as he spun. He placed his hand lightly on the revealed green panel. The scanner moved up and down once before beeping softly. The door slid down as the elevator began to move.

"Welcome back, Braun. Suit dry?" a voice asked from a speaker above him.

"I'm almost empty. Have Phil meet me down below."

"He's already on his way."

Braun nodded. Unlike his Recon unit, the base operators knew what they were doing. And Phil seemed to always keep a tab on him.

The elevator finally stopped seven hundred feet below the surface. As the door slid open, the sounds of the base rushed over him. Someone talking about a rookie. He was asking her about supplies. A drill team marching through the halls in perfect formation. It was all too noisy. He much preferred the quiet of a good hunt.

But he forced himself past it and walked through the grey halls of the underground base. It was one of two in the world. If the entire base were to be removed, half of the city above would sink into the ground. And the other base, on the other side of the globe, was still bigger.

He went into a side hall and stepped into another elevator, taking him down deeper into the complex. Braun couldn't quite figure out what the uppers were doing expect for Roth. Anyone spending a few minutes with him could have him figured out.

The door opened to the armory. A server quickly stepped forward. "Welcome back." His lithe hands immediately went for Braun's vest.

But Braun quickly grabbed his wrist and twisted it nearly forty-five degrees, causing the smaller man to yelp. "Hands off. Only I touch my gear." He threw the man into a weapons locker and walked on. He could hear several people helping the other man up, but he ignored them with a shake of his head. "Newbies."

Braun had always believed in the quote of his master. "Take care of your equipment and your equipment will take care of you." Ever since his first pistol, he had never let another lay hands on his gear. Any maintenance required was done with his own hands.

Phil approached from the other side just as he began to open his private weapons locker. "Welcome back, Braun. How was the hunt?"

"Atrocious." He undid his vest and let it slide off. "I assume you were listening."

"Yes, sir."

"How many times do I have to tell you not to call me 'sir'?" The vest went over a rack on the side.

"Forgive me. Force of habit."

He couldn't fathom why Phil had insisted he stay with Braun as new equipment went into the empty vest pouches. Normally, assistants were only assigned to high-level Hunters, which Braun had once been. When he was demoted to Recon, Phil had managed to stay with him. In Braun's eyes, it was almost like he had taken it on himself to watch over his superior. That brought a light chuckle to Braun's throat. If he was weaker, he would almost call that friendship.

"Recon 2 will be coming in shortly."

"I will have him wait in the usual place."

He pulled off the belt, placed it in the bottom of the locker, and patted Phil on the back. "Good man."

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A Growlithe was thrown into a perfect white room. A pane of glass allowed viewing from a control room, where Dr. Roth stood.

Most people wouldn't consider Roth a mad genius just by looking at him. By most standards, he was quite attractive. A small chin, high cheekbones, and a straight hair cut of graying hair showed a face that looked much younger than his years. Come to think of it, Braun wasn't sure how old Roth was. He only knew that the scientist had been with Team Rocket for many years. And that he was good.

"Administer the mixture," Roth spoke to his workers, who were placed at computers around the room.

Jets in the testing room sprayed a mist into the air. The Growlithe looked around curiously before beginning to cough.

"Mixture is beginning to take effect."

The creature fell to its side. A clear fluid began to fly out with every cough. The coughs gradually got softer, until a steady pitch from a nearby computer replaced them.

"Subject's heart has failed."

Roth sighed. He walked to his own computer and pressed a button on the keyboard. "Mixture 217935: Marked Failure. Early hypothesis is same result of death as previous mixtures. Will test to confirm." He hit another button and walked out, leaving his helpers to clean everything up.

Braun joined him as he walked by. "Still can't find the right blend?"

"You better have good news for me."

"She got away."

The man stopped, his face growing tight. After a second he threw a fist into the wall. "I need that girl, Braun! She is the key to all of this!"

"I am aware of that, sir. But I may have a way to catch her."

Roth examined his eyes. He hated that. The man's eyes were like daggers, somehow able to see everything. One deep look sent ice through even Braun's veins. "You want a solo. Not after what happened last time." He continued walking.

"Sir, with respect, my failure last time was a technicality."

"Failure is failure, regardless of the circumstances."

"I believe I can bring her in. You know I work best alone."

The scientist gave him another glance as they walked. "Sadly, that is true." He stopped at the next intersection. "Very well. You will be raised to Hunter for one week. Fail this time, and you won't get off with just Recon."

"Thank you, sir." Braun gave a salute.

Roth turned and left without returning it.


	5. 4 Strange Savior

**Chapter 4**

**Strange Savior**

It took them only about half an hour to get outside of the city. As soon as they got a good distance from the alley, the two began walking normally, Sam acting like she was the man's Pokemon.

But she couldn't keep her heart from pounding in her chest. Her eyes constantly darted, searching the crowd for any signs of danger. At one point, she thought she saw a blur across a rooftop and she'd jumped behind the man that saved her.

She didn't relax until they completely left the city. Immediately, she slipped into the brush, thankful for the comforting shield of foliage. It would be almost impossible for anyone to follow her through here.

Her head turned towards a crunch behind her. The man was still following her. "I should be ok from here."

He brushed a piece of pine needles from his shoulder. "I don't think so. Team Rocket won't give up easily. Especially with two targets on the loose."

It didn't seem like he would be leaving. "Fine." She continued walking. He stayed right behind her.

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Paul was already waiting when Braun returned to his weapons locker. The assistant was loading the vest with the special equipment. "Congratulations on the rank-up, sir."

"Kill it, Phil." He stepped between Phil and his gear and looked over it. Phil had already gotten everything that a Hunter was entitled to. Special helmet computer. Shock grenades. Knock-out pistol. It was all here.

"I took the liberty of loading the Thorn gas specs into your computer. There is also a new device I smuggled from R and D. It's a light cloak field. But it only works if you remain still. Any motion, and you'll lose it."

Braun wanted to laugh for a moment, but he pressed it down. "You really are the best, Phil." He pulled the vest out. "Help me get this on."

It took him only ten minutes to get everything on and get up to the roof. Back when he was a real Hunter, he could do it in half the time by putting his gear on on the trip up. He was rusty. But not rusty enough to not bring in this trophy.

A small piece of glass flipped over his left eye. It was the screen for his computer. "Thorn gas."

Thorn gas was a special tool that no one else at Rocket had. In fact, no one besides Phil knew he even had it. It was a colorless odorless gas that released a low level of non-lethal radiation. It also stuck to any surface, would not wash off, and had a half-life of two weeks, which made it ideal for tracking. It stuck to someone like a thorn.

A map of the city appeared on the piece of glass. Besides the alley, which was glowing white, there were exactly four sources of the radiation. He was hoping, praying, that she had only managed to hide and that the Thorn gas he threw into the alley would be on her.

One of the sources of radiation was just outside of the city, and moving further away. Any target that knows someone is after them will run eight out of ten times. That would be her.

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She eventually broke through the brush into the clearing where her temporary cave was. Though really, it wasn't a cave. A tree had fallen over and the roots hung over a space just big enough for her to lie down in in her human form, which was more than enough space for her as an Eevee.

He practically fell out, having to yank his foot free of the vines. But he quickly composed himself as he saw where he was.

Sam stepped under the roots and focused her mind, causing her body to grow.

He couldn't help but watch. Yes, it was something he did almost every day himself. But watching her change so completely… She wasn't wearing any clothes. He quickly realized it after starring for a moment too long. He spun on his heal and faced the other way.

Growing up as a Pokemon, she had never had to worry about clothes. She wore them merely as a formality around humans. What clothes she did have she kept with her in a small bag. Digging around, she found a red blouse and slipped it on. She then took out a white knee-length skirt and pulled it on.

When she stepped back out, she saw the man standing at the edge of the clearing. He was glowing and the Riolu features had reappeared. Now that she had a good chance to look at him, he was quite attractive. He wasn't bulging with muscle, but she could see a bit of tight sinew under his fur.

She shook her head, throwing the thoughts away. How could she even think such things? She was Feuer's mate and no one else's.

Staying silent on her naked feet, she stepped up behind him. "What are you doing?"

He didn't jump at all. "I am connecting to the aura of the forest." For a moment, he didn't acknowledge her. But then the blue light faded. "We are safe for the moment." This time his strange features remained over his body.

Sam bowed her head slightly. "Thank you for saving me. My name is Sam."

"I am Luca of the Great Tree." Luca placed a paw-hand over his chest and bowed low.

She laughed. He was so polite. "So why did you save me?"

He came back up. "You needed help. I… have been chased by Team Rocket for many years. I cannot allow them to take anyone while I have the power to stop them."

"Why are they chasing you?" she asked, now curious.

He closed his eyes and looked away. "I am different. I am not ashamed of it. But they want what I have."

"_He's a bit shy, it seems."_ She let a hand come up and trace through his fur. He brought his gaze back to her, but didn't stop her. "How are you like this?"

"My mother is a Lucario halfling. My father was a Pokemon trainer that came to the Great Tree and they fell in love. But please, enough about me." No he took her hand in his and pulled it from his arm. "I want to hear about you. You are the Shaiya, aren't you?"

Her head nodded. "I'm supposed to be, I think. But really, I can't change into anything but a human."

"I thought you changed into Pokemon," he said quizzically.

"I was actually born as an Eevee. I didn't even have these powers until a moon ago." An image of Feuer came to her mind. As usual when that happened, a gentle feeling of sorrow spread through her. It wasn't enough to bring her to tears, but she still missed him.

"What's wrong?"

"Just… memories. My mate was the real Shaiya. But he died protecting our home. When he did, his powers somehow got transferred to me."

Luca silently bowed his head. "I am sorry."

"Don't be."

An awkward silence fell over them. But it still felt alright just to stand together. Protector and protected.

"So what will you do now?" she asked to break the silence.

"I'm not really sure," he said after a moment of hesitation. "Ever since Team Rocket started coming after me, I've just been wandering." He turned and walked over to a tree, sitting down and resting against it. "Not really much of a life."

She sat at an adjacent tree. "I think I would prefer such a simple life. I'm trying to make the humans see the errors of expanding into shaiya villages, but they are a stubborn group."

She couldn't place why, but she felt oddly comfortable being around this Luca. Ever since Feuer's death, she had been wandering on her own. But here was someone that seemed to understand her suffering. And he had saved her life, which gave her a sense of safety.

"This may be strange to ask, but would you like to travel with me?" The question came out before she even realized she was asking it.

He jumped on it. "I'd love to." They both let out a soft laugh, neither of them quite knowing why.

A soft pop reached her ears. A split second later, something small smashed into the side of her head. The world went fuzzy and then black before she could fall to the ground.

----------

Braun slid the pistol back into his holster. Not only had he found the Shaiya, the Riolu target was with her. Roth would be very pleased with his trophies.

"This is Hunter 1. Target captured. Requesting a Carrier at my coordinates."

**A/N: Now review! Do it now!**


	6. 5 Prison

**Chapter 5**

**Prison**

**A/N: There seem to be some people reading this story that have not read the other Shaiya Chronicles. So here are some points that will clarify some things.**

**The term "Shaiya" has two meanings. If it is uncapitalized (shaiya), it is the general term Pokemon. Capitalized (Shaiya), it is the term for the person that can change into Pokemon.**

**Feuer, a Chimchar, was the Shaiya before Sam and Sam's mate. When humans tried to take their home, he slaughtered the whole group of them, but was killed in the process. Sam then gained part of Feuer's power and became the Shaiya.**

**If you are enjoying this story and want the whole back-story, check out the whole Shaiya Chronicles series, labeled in my profile.**

"Where am I? Why is it so cold?"

Sam couldn't see. She couldn't feel anything besides the chill. The place seemed to press in on her from every angle.

Something materialized in front of her. It was a man, around her height. He was in jeans and a red jacket. Orange hair flared up from his head. He spoke softly, "Sam."

She didn't recognize him. But then she looked deep into his eyes. "Feuer?"

"You must be strong, Sam. Remember, I am always with you." He started to float away.

"Wait, Feuer! Don't leave me again!"

"It's time for you to wake up, Sam. Wake up."

"Feuer!"

----------

"Sam, wake up."

Her eyes finally came open. Luca was hovering over her, beyond him a metal grey ceiling. Something was creating a loud, rhythmic banging from close by.

He helped pull her up to a sitting position. Now that she was up, she could see where she was. It was a cage. Three sides were solid metal. The other side was a collection of metal bars. A Buizel was throwing punch after punch into the bars, which was the source of the bang. "Where are we?"

"I have no clue. I just woke up here. And the Buizel won't stop long enough to talk."

She pushed herself over to the bars. They were a few feet off the ground. Cages lined both sides of a walkway. Pokemon filled almost every space. "This can't be good."

The Buizel next to her stopped and fell back, its breath heavy. "You're at…the Team Rocket…base."

They both looked at him. "Are you serious?"

He simply nodded his head.

Luca went to the back and sat down. "They must have gotten us when we weren't paying attention."

The Buizel wouldn't stop looking at Sam. It was starting to make her a little self-conscious when he asked, "You're the Shaiya, aren't you?"

"Y…yes."

He shook his head. "Then they've finally gotten it."

"What have they got?" Luca asked.

"This is a very special research facility. Roth has been trying to create Halflings like you." He pointed at Luca. "He hasn't succeeded in years. But they kept saying they needed one person: the Shaiya. Something about your blood would complete their research."

"Well, they won't get her blood, then. Simple as that."

"They've already gotten her blood. They drew some when you were both still out. I'd guess Roth is already piecing everything together."

----------

The scientist was nearly drooling over his keyboard. The results had just come through the system. "This is it. We've finally got it!" He practically leapt into the air. Most of the other scientists joined him.

Braun didn't.

"Well done, Braun."

----------

"What are they planning to do with this?" Luca asked. "So they change a few Pokemon. What's the big deal?"

Buizel shrugged. "Only Roth really knows that. But it's not just a few shaiyas. Rumor through the cages is that he's planning on spreading it through the whole world, shaiyas _and_ humans."

There was a moment of silence as the revelation sank in. Luca had always had a belief that what he had was not a curse. But having it spread to the entire planet may end up becoming one. Who knew what kind of repercussions it would have? Maybe that was Roth's plan. "We have to stop him."

"But we have to get out of here," Sam replied sadly. Her voice still wavered with slight fear.

Luca stood, or crouched, the ceilings weren't very high, and moved over to examine the bars. "If you were an Eevee, you could fit through these bars, couldn't you?"

She placed a hand against the cold metal, judging it. "Maybe. It's worth a try." She focused on her body. But as soon as she started to feel herself change, a pulse of energy shot through her, forcing her out of the transition. She gasped suddenly as her muscles momentarily froze. And then the sensation was gone, as if it had never been there.

Luca put a hand to her shoulder. "You ok?"

"I don't know." She checked her hand. Still human. "Something stopped me."

"Probably the energy field," the Buizel said as he stood to his feet. "It stops any shaiya from using special powers."

"Then how are we supposed to get out of here?"

He stepped back up to the bars. "The old fashioned way." He pulled back his arms and resumed punching the bars.

Luca couldn't help but admire him. That had to hurt, and yet he went on anyway. "What's your name?"

He paused just long enough to turn and say, "Wasser."

----------

Braun stayed until they popped the champagne. He had had enough of their celebration; there were more important things to do.

But as he turned to leave, Roth stopped him. "Braun, I expect you to turn in your Hunter equipment by tomorrow morning."

He stopped and turned. "Excuse me?"

"Your equipment. Be sure to turn it in."

"But I caught her," he stumbled without thinking. "You said I would be raised to Hunter!"

"I said you would be raised to Hunter for one week. I never said you would stay there."

He was left dumbstruck. Roth had played him like a fiddle.

But what surprised him most was that he had actually fallen for it. Braun had enough training to easily see when someone was lying. But Roth had completely slipped his radar. Very few could deceive Braun, and none could do it so cleanly.

Roth had always been strange, but something about him was wrong.

And yet Braun could do nothing about it. Roth was his superior. Instead, he forced his anger down into his clenched fist. So much so that he could swear he felt blood.

He glared into the man's eye a second longer before leaving. As he walked though the halls, he pulled out his cell and hit speed dial 2. The other side answered, "Yes, sir?"

"I've got a special job for you, Phil."

There's more than one way to get even.

----------

Luca's respect for Wasser grew with each passing minute. The Buizel's hands were hardly recognizable any more. Blood soaked the bars and pooled onto the floor. And yet still he hammered at the bars. When he finally backed off, a section of the bars had actually started to bend outward. But it still wasn't enough.

Wasser fell backwards and cringed as he tried to move his hands. "I can't do any more."

"You tried," Luca said solemnly. "That's really all that matters."

"It looks like we aren't going anywhere." Sam laid her head onto her arms, which were propped across her bent legs.

A door slid open in the hall with a hiss. Several shaiyas in the nearby cages began to scream and pound the bars as someone walked inside. The person stopped and crouched in front of their cage. He was in a uniform quite different from the rest. His outfit was entirely black except for grayish segments at the shoulders. He looked to be in better shape than the other Rocket members she remembered, as well.

He slipped a piece of paper between the bars. "There is a shift change in one hour, seven minutes. The lights will flash. Then you will have exactly two minutes and thirty seconds to leave by this route." He pressed a code into the wall next to the bars and rose to leave.

"Wait!" Sam was the first to the bars. She pressed against them, trying to get a good view. But they suddenly swung outward, causing her to nearly fall out into the hall. Luca pulled her back just in time. "Why are you letting us go?"

The man stopped. "Roth will not give me what I want. So he will not have what he wants. Stay low until the shift." He walked through the door and it hissed closed.

She wanted to follow him, to escape now, but Luca pulled the bars towards them. The hall suddenly became quiet once again.

----------

Braun flipped his cell. "What's the status?"

"The brain is gone, eyes are open." Translated, "The files have been deleted, the cameras are back online."

"Good work. Cover your tracks and get out of there."

Roth had the mind of a genius, including photographic memory. Not having the blood samples in the computer system wouldn't stop him, but it would slow him down by a number of weeks. And he had now guaranteed that he wouldn't get any more samples.

Assuming they could get out. But that was their problem, not his.


	7. 6 Prison Break

**Chapter 6**

**Prison Break**

Luca and Sam sat at the back of the cage, studying the piece of paper the stranger had left them while Wasser sat by the bars to both hold them shut and watch for the flash that would signal the time to run.

For being so sudden, everything seemed to fall into place. The piece of paper was a highly detailed map. As long as it was accurate, anyone could follow it out. There were also details about which doors would be open and the codes for the doors that were locked. He had even gone so far as to mark where to hide when guards would walk by.

For the first time since they'd arrived, the fear of being stuck in prison began to abate. But it was soon replaced by a fear of what would happen if they were caught. She tried not to focus on that as much; instead, she put her whole mind towards their escape route. They hoped to have the entire route memorized by the time the signal came.

----------

Braun stepped into the dark room. Every light was off except for the computer screen, where his assistant sat. "Ready?"

"Almost," Phil answered without turning. "I've got every camera on time loop standby except for the ladder."

He checked his watch. Fifty-three seconds before the shift change. Hopefully they were ready. If they weren't, it didn't really matter, he supposed. He just wanted to make Roth suffer.

----------

Roth removed the vial from the analyzer. It was only their first batch, so it was far from complete. But compared to the other thousands of samples, this one might as well be right on the dot. He was so close…

The door behind him burst open. "Sir, the files are gone!"

He set the vial into a holder. "Which files?"

"The Shaiya samples."

A moment of surprise tore through him. "Who was the last to access them?"

"You, sir."

That had been several hours ago, he noted. Anyone could have gotten into them since, and they were simply smart enough to hide themselves.

Roth had never been one to get overworked with emotions. He was always a thinking man. So he began to think. Who had a reason to turn on him? He hadn't made anyone mad recently. Or more mad than normal, anyway. And no one was brave enough to go against him.

No one except Braun.

He turned and walked through the door. "Come with me."

----------

"Activate the time loop."

Phil pressed several keys. The images on the screen flashed momentarily. A second later, the lights outside the hallway gave a quick flash.

----------

Wasser saw the flash. But it took a second to register. "That's it."

Luca and Sam both looked up from the map. "What?" But he was already out of the cage. He grabbed the map and they hurried after him.

As Sam hit the floor, she noticed that all of the other shaiyas were watching them silently. None of them screamed or begged to be taken as well.

A hand grabbed her arm, surprising her. It was a Scizor. "Please, come back for us," he begged with a tear in his eye.

She felt a pang of sympathy. She patted the hand "I will."

He smiled and released his grip.

They checked the hallway outside before quickly rushing down the left hall.

----------

Braun checked his watch again. One minute elapsed. They were just getting to the first air duct. In his mind, he had a running scenario of where they should be. They weren't lagging far behind, but if they didn't keep their pace, they might not make it.

"Sir, we have a problem." Phil pointed to one of the camera feeds. It was Roth walking through the halls, one of his scientists in tow.

He knew without asking where they were going. "How much time do we have?"

"About a minute before they get here."

"Can you clean up that fast?"

"I'm going to have to." His fingers started to fly. Timers assigned to each camera feed began to tick down. The race instantly took on new stakes, both for the captives and for them.

----------

Luca pushed himself up through the vent and into a metal crawl space. This should take them the rest of the way before they hit the long climb up. As soon as he got up, he turned to help the others.

Wasser's hands were still bloody, and a bit slipped onto Luca's hands. He wiped it off before helping Sam.

They were moving again in no time. Speaking of time, Luca had no way of telling how long it had taken them to get this far. The man had told them exactly two minutes and thirty seconds. So how much time did they have left? A minute? It was impossible to tell.

He looked around as they crouch-ran. The space was tight, but there was just enough space beside the walkway to fall off the path. Beside the metal boards they were walking on, it looked like there was nothing but insulation and sheetrock. The map had warned not to fall here. There wasn't enough support to hold someone. Whoever fell would land in the room below with a loud and painful crash.

But that wouldn't happen. He shook his head lightly to reassure himself. They'd get out of this.

"Ah!" Something banged behind him.

He spun just in time to see Sam begin to teeter. Her shoulders and chest were already over the edge, and the rest was following.

"Sam!" Luca jumped forward, reaching one of her flailing arms, and dropped to one knee. His fingers wrapped around her wrist just as her legs slipped over the edge. Her weight jerked his arm to the shoulder and he grunted and cringed at the slight pain. She nearly took him down with her, but he pushed back with his legs and just managed to keep himself balanced. A moment later, he felt her hand grab his wrist. "Hold on!"

Her other hand quickly reached up and grabbed onto the ledge. Together, they managed to pull her up to the ledge. It all happened so fast, she was sitting next to her before he even realized he was pulling her up. All he was focused on was "Pull."

After it was over, they sat for a moment to just breathe. Luca felt something slimy on his knee. A quick wipe brought up a red palm. She had slipped on Wasser's blood. He swept it onto the walkway as best he could before pulling her to her feet. "We need to keep moving. Watch your step."

----------

"Come on, Phil."

"I'm trying." He was still cleaning up the hard drive. Several camera screens were still open. One of them showed the impending danger of Roth, now only three halls over.

Braun had already come up with his excuse. His pistol was stripped to bare parts on the table with the appropriate tools. It was maintenance that he needed some help with. Nothing strange about that. Except that Braun was an expert, he shouldn't need any help. Hopefully that note would slip Roth's mind.

His wrist came up for the thirtieth time in the past three minutes. "Go faster, Phil."

The man didn't reply. He just kept working.

----------

Roth stepped around the corner, bringing his destination into sight. Another ten steps, and he was pushing the door in.

"Pass me the wool." The sounds found him before the actual room did. Inside, Braun was sitting at a table, his pistol in pieces before him. Phil was handing him tools, one at a time.

The two looked up as the scientist entered. "Can I help you, sir?" Phil asked, a piece of steel wool in his hand.

Roth's eyes searched the room for only a second. "I need to take your computer." He pointed and the other scientist moved for it.

"Of course, sir."

The equipment was gathered quickly and they left Braun to his work. That seemed a bit too easy.

----------

Braun let his tools drop to the table with a heavy sigh. For all his training, that ten seconds rattled his nerves. "Please tell me you finished."

"They won't find a thing."

Braun surprised himself by smiling. "Good man, Phil."

----------

Wasser looked both ways quickly. "Go."

Sam slipped past him and through the door across from the hall. A second later, it was empty again.

Another quick check, another "Go." Luca went this time.

And then he was through. When he stepped through, he looked up. Just as the map had said, a single ladder went straight up. Sam was already climbing, with Luca just getting started behind her.

So far, no one had noticed their escape. Or if they had, word of it hadn't reached them yet. All they had to do was climb this ladder 300 feet or so and they would be in the clear.

He glanced at his bloody hands before reaching for the ladder. He forced the pain from his mind and climbed.

**A/N: Why does no one review? (thanks to those that actually are)**


	8. 7 Burned

**Chapter 7**

**Burned**

**ATTN!: This is officially the last day for the poll. If you haven't voted yet, do so before tomorrow morning. It's really close, but there's still the chance your vote could change the outcome.**

He was just making his usual rounds. It was any normal day. Nothing had ever happened. Nothing would ever happen.

The door slid open. He saw it without taking a single step in. One cage's door swung open. He dashed over and read the label across the cage. The Shaiya's cage. Only there was no Shaiya inside.

"Cage break! The Shaiya is gone!"

----------

"What have you found?"

"There are no logs showing he accessed the mainframe within the past week, sir."

"None?" That was unusual. "Don't computers access the mainframe every day?"

"Yes, sir. It's for security updates."

Roth smiled to himself. The fool had been overzealous with his care. He had accidentally destroyed everything and not just the incriminating evidence. Of course, there wasn't anything to actually say Braun had ordered the files destroyed, but Roth wasn't an idiot.

The intercom beeped. "Security breach. Specimen Alpha-1 is code Black. Security breach."

Roth spun to the speaker, which replayed the message again. He quickly looked to his assistant. "Get every security team on alert! All Recon teams aboveground! She can't have gotten far!"

"Yes, sir!" He jumped up and ran through the door.

Roth looked back at the computer. First the blood sample files mysteriously vanished and then their all-important subject somehow escapes. This was no coincidence.

----------

Sam pushed the metal grate aside and pulled herself up. By now, the smell almost brought her stomach up. Wherever they were, there was trash or feces nearby.

She moved out of the ladder hatch and sat down on cold, moist stone. It looked like a sewer. That would explain the smell. There were a few lights on the walls, but they were only bright enough to light a few feet in either direction, so most of the tunnel was dark.

Luca came up a moment later. He looked around. "Well that explains the smell." He pushed himself up and slid into a sitting position next to Sam. The climb had left all of them worn out.

"Thank you for saving me, Luca."

He looked over at her. She wore a gentle smile on her face. His hand came up and rubbed her knee. "I'm sure you would have done the same for me."

The moment took her by surprise. Her savior had the softest hands.

But then her mind caught up with her. What was she doing? She pushed herself up, letting his hand just fall from her leg. "We should get going. They'll probably be coming after us." She turned to look down the tunnel away from him.

He looked up at her. Somehow, he had gone too far. But why wouldn't she accept him?

Wasser finally climbed through the hole. His hands had formed a fresh layer of blood. He instantly fell down next to the water and rinsed his hands through.

"You really should do something about those," Luca said.

Sam stepped over to him. "Here. Let me." She pulled his hands up from the water and held them gently in her own hands. Wasser watched as her hands began to glow a gentle green. His hands slowly began to grow a layer of the skin. The blood vanished back into his veins. The dull pain slowly faded until it vanished.

After only a few seconds, the glow faded. Wasser raised his hand up to the light. It was completely healed. There wasn't even a scar. It was as if his hands had never been shredded. "How did you do that?"

A throb spread through her skull. Sam took a step back and put a hand to her forehead. "I don't know. I just… did it."

"Sam, you said you couldn't change into other Pokemon, right?"

She nodded. "What does that have to do with this?"

Luca stepped forward and took her hands. "Maybe this is what you can do instead. You can heal people."

"You think?"

"Hey, I know this water." They both turned. Wasser was kneeling over the small river of sewage. "This is Southern Lake water."

"How do you know that?"

"I lived at the Southern Lake. I'd recognize its water anywhere." He sniffed the air and started off at a light jog down the tunnel. "This way."

Sam and Luca followed a moment later.

----------

Braun stepped through the door to Roth's main lab. He stopped just inside. "You called for me, sir?"

Roth looked up from a computer. Aside from him, the lab was empty. Braun guessed they were all out looking for the Shaiya. And that meant they hadn't found her. That meant by now, about an hour since they watched her begin, she would be well away and out of their grasp. But he forced his face to remain straight.

"Thank you for coming, Braun." He typed a few more keys into the computer before standing. "I assume you heard that Alpha-1, the Shaiya, managed to escape from her cage earlier." He began to pace around Braun.

"I heard it."

"Well she didn't escape. She was released. Someone had gone in there and unlocked the cage. They probably also told her exactly when to go so they would slip between the guard changes."

"Do you want me to find who did this, sir?" Braun wished he hadn't asked it the moment it left his lips. He could just see a flash pass through Roth's eye. _"Don't be so eager to hide your cover,"_ he reminded himself. It's always better to let your enemy provide you with cover than make your own. _"Play it cool."_

"No, I don't need you to find him."

"_He knows."_ He tried to keep his face straight, but he knew he let a tiny hint of alarm pass through his features. Roth would surely see it.

"Around the same time," Roth continued, "the files regarding her blood samples vanished, with no trace of who could have erased them."

Braun simply waited. He didn't want to dig himself a bigger hole, just in case there was a way out.

Roth stepped up behind him and leaned in close. "It cannot merely be a coincidence that this happens hours after you are denied your promotion."

Right then, Braun knew he was in trouble. He kept his face and shoulders straight.

He resumed walking, back to his computer. "I don't have any proof saying it was you, but luckily I don't really need any. I _know_ it was you." He pressed another button, this one on some device he couldn't see. "You are officially removed from this organization."

The door behind him slid open. Two guards stepped forward, pistols held steady.

"I don't want to see you anywhere near this city again."

----------

Braun dropped the last ammo clip into the box. His entire locker was clean. His personal items, mostly just clothing, were in a duffle bag. The rest, his Recon and Hunter gear, were in boxes to be put back in storage. The two guards had watched him during the entire process.

He was about to close the locker door when Phil stepped through the door. The assistant was holding a small case in his hand.

Braun knew even before he placed it on the bench and opened it. It was a standard tracking implant. Any Rocket member that was burned would have one placed under the skin. If they came anywhere within range of the scanner, the base would know.

He never thought he would be getting one.

Phil took Braun's arm and rubbed a section with iodine. "Forgive me, sir. I really don't want to be doing this."

"For the last time, will you stop calling me 'sir'?"

"Yes, sir." He took the rather large needle and pushed it under the skin. As he withdrew it, a small bump was left in Braun's arm. "Where will you go from here?"

Braun picked up his bag and pulled it over his shoulder. "I think I'll head south. Maybe do some fishing in one of the lakes."

Phil simply nodded. Then he held out a hand. "It was a pleasure working for you."

Braun let himself smile and take the hand. "Thank you."

The guards escorted him through the elevator ride to the rear door, where they left Braun in the alleyway. He simply walked through the alley to the main street. It was just approaching sunrise, and he quickly blended with the morning crowds.

When he was finally a safe distance, he reached into his sleeve for the piece of paper. Phil had slipped it up when putting in the tracker. Braun had felt it, but had hidden his surprise. The paper had only a code: "18.7500 +D"

He slipped the paper away and smiled again. "You sly son of a bitch."

----------

A bright light finally appeared at the end of the tunnel. The sight gave them renewed strength and they went from a gentle walk back to a steady jog. They finally reached the end of the tunnel around an hour since they first crawled out of the ladder manhole.

As they got close, Wasser began to call, "Aley!" Luca guessed it was his mate or someone close to him.

His voice fell silent when they finally stepped into the light.

"Oh my god!"


	9. 8 Meeting

**Chapter 8**

**Meeting**

**A/N: The poll is officially over. The winner is… somebody. If you don't know already, you'll have to wait and see.**

**Now read!**

"Oh my god!"

The scene stretching before them could not be summed better than one word: nightmare. Wasser had said this was the Southern Lake. She had been to the Southern Lake once, and this looked nothing like it.

The water was a sickly green color. Still rotting bodies of Magikarp and Finneon floated amidst wooden branches and stinky algae.

The trees lining the lake had once been full and green. Now they were grayish skeletons, reaching up to the clouds with bony fingers. Even the grass appeared dead. The entire shore and stretching back as far as they could see was brown.

The morning sun cast a blood red light across the clouds, making the sky appear to burn with fire.

And the smell… Sam doubled over as her stomach emptied itself.

Luca just stood in shock. He didn't really know what to expect, but this wasn't part of any ideas.

Wasser shared Luca's face, only more horrorful than shocked. His eyes began scanning the shoreline until he found something. "ALEY!!!" He jumped from the pipe onto the shore and took off at a sprint.

"Wasser, wait!" Luca started after him, but stopped to help Sam, who was still suffering from bile in her mouth. He helped her down and they quickly followed.

He hadn't run far, so they quickly caught up. He was kneeling inside a ring of bloody bodies, a mixture of Buizel and Floatzel. They all had massive holes through their bodies. Several were missing limbs; one was completely decapitated.

The sight horrified Sam. She had seen carnage before; Feuer had once mutilated a large group of humans. But she had never seen this kind of bloodshed to shaiyas. She stepped back as her body forced her to vomit again.

Luca gave her a passing glance, but kept his attention of Wasser. "Wasser?"

The Buizel reached a paw out to one of the bodies in front of him. "Voda." Tears started to pool on the ground in front of him. He slowly fell over, covering the body with his own, as he began to cry in earnest. "Who could have done this?"

Luca could only imagine what Wasser was feeling. He tried to think of how he would feel losing his mother or father, but even that didn't seem to do it justice. Wasser had just lost his entire clan.

Sam coughed, spitting some nasty spittle to the ground. Something glinted on the ground. She spit again to clear the taste as she reached down through some leaves. It was a small blue orb. A red "R" was branded on one side. She picked it up slowly. It was the same kind of Pokeball they had used on her yesterday. "Luca, look at this."

He took it from her. "Team Rocket. I should have guessed."

"Rocket?" Wasser was suddenly up and grabbing the ball from his hand before Luca even knew he was listening. He looked at the ball for a second before throwing it to the ground with a scream. The orb shattered on impact with the hard dirt. "They have her! We must go back!"

Luca just managed to throw an arm around him before he got past. "Wasser, stop! Think for a second!"

"I don't have time! I must save Aley!"

"Sam, help me."

She paused, but then grabbed onto Wasser's flailing arm. The two combined successfully managed to pull him to the ground. "Let me go!" he screamed, trying to break free. His arm managed to slip from Sam's grasp, though she quickly found it again, but Luca's grip was firm. The Buizel struggled for several seconds until the screams became whimpers. He soon stopped struggling. Luca cautiously let the arm in his grasp fall, and Wasser fell into Sam's arms, crying softly.

And she couldn't help but hold him. She completely understood how he felt. He was reacting exactly as she had when she awoke to Feuer's bleeding body. The emotions were practically overflowing from his shivering form, bringing up painful memories from only months ago as her heart began to feel the agony again. A few drops of her own tears fell and began mixing with his. "It's ok."

Wasser managed to look up and through his whimpers said, "Please. We must go back for her. She's all I have left."

Luca stood up slowly. "We got out. I'm sure we can sneak in just as easily."

"I doubt you would be able to get through the first guard."

They all looked up. Someone came walking through the trees. He stood tall, a long black coat covered what looked like a jet black workout suit, with a beige duffle bag slung over one shoulder. None of them could truly see who he was until he came into the light of the shoreline. Sam was the first to recognize him. "It's you!"

He kept his eyes straight as he walked past, suddenly seemingly oblivious to their presence. He simply went past them, past the bloodied carnage, and on along the shoreline.

Sam stood up and followed him. "Why did you help us?"

"I told you already." He gave her a sideways glance. "I suggest you leave. Recons will be after you in a bit."

"We can't do that," Luca said from behind Sam. "They still have other Pokemon in there."

"Including my mate!" Wasser screamed.

"We can't just leave them."

"You can and you should." They approached the pipe again. The man dropped his bag and turned around, leaning against the rusted metal.

A connection came together in Luca's head. "Wait. Don't you work for them?" He didn't answer, but he didn't really have to. Luca already knew the answer. "You can help us get inside."

"I don't think so."

Wasser grunted and jumped forward, grabbing the guy's shirt. "Listen to me, you piece of trash. We are going to break into that place and get my mate. And you are going to help us!"

The man's arm moved in a blur of motion. Wasser was suddenly spun around, his arm twisted to his back with the man holding him tight. "Try and do that again, you won't get off with a sore arm." He threw the Buizel to the ground.

Something splashed into the water beside them. The man turned and pulled out a large clear plastic bag. Another duffle bag was inside. Sam looked over his shoulder as he checked the contents. The only thing she caught a glimpse of was a gun handle. But he zipped it closed before she could get a look and slung the bag over his shoulder. He started to walk off.

"Wait!"

"You aren't my problem."

"What is your problem then?" Luca said to his retreating back. "One moment you're helping us, and now you can't even say three words to us? What's up?"

He stopped walking. For a moment, the air stilled. A dead silence fell over them. A second later, he spun around. "You want to know what my problem is?! I spend sixteen years becoming a Hunter! And Roth refuses to give me the respect I deserve!" And then he turned and continued walking, his stride stronger.

Sam took a frightened step back. In a moment, his entire demeanor changed. He really hated this Roth guy.

Wasser formed a grin. "You know, if we rescue everyone, Roth is going to be really pissed."

He kept walking.

Luca put a hand on Wasser's shoulder. "Let me. You want to make Roth suffer?"

He stopped again. Without turning, "I'm listening."

"If we let all of the Pokemon go, imagine how mad he'll be."

There was another stillness as he considered the offer. It was a good idea, Sam thought. If Roth really hated this man so much, he would take it. And he definitely had the connections to get them inside.

He turned and walked back towards them. "If we're going to do this, you follow my instructions to the letter."

"We can," Luca said with a nod.

She clutched his hand gently. This was a good thing. She didn't want to spoil the mood, so she kept her fears to herself. A picture of Feuer appeared in her mind, giving her strength. Saving shaiyas was what she had to do, so she would do it.

Wasser suddenly put his paw in, creating one of those group moments. He then looked to the other man.

"I don't do corny moments."

Luca gave a laugh. "Don't ruin the moment, buddy."

He didn't return the laugh. "First, I'm not your buddy. Second, my name is Braun. Use it." He reluctantly brought his hand in a laid it on the others.

A flash of light burst from their hands. They spread, but the light overtook them.

They suddenly found themselves in a dark void. Sam recognized the place. It was very similar to what it felt like inside Luca's bubble: the space pressing in on her, the cold penetrating her bones.

Braun spoke first. "What have you done?" he said accusingly to the others.

"I didn't do anything," Luca returned.

Another, smaller flash appeared above them. A small body entered the space over their heads and floated. "I brought you here."

Braun looked up. "Who are you?"

Luca dropped to one knee and bowed his head. "Mew."

"Mew? Never heard of you."

Sam relaxed at hearing the name. She knew about Mew. "She is the messenger of the Great Spirits." But that thought brought more tightness to her muscles. Why was Mew appearing to them?

"Guardians of the earth, listen well. You four have been brought together on the winds of destiny. Your time has come. Eldryn is close to unlocking the secret."

Braun again butted in with a question. "Eldryn? Who is Eldryn?"

"Eldryn is Arceus' brother," Luca answered. "He was jealous of Arceus, so he tried to defile his creation by creating the Mäyto. When Arceus stopped him, he left the Spirit Realm."

"Arceus implores you. You must stop his brother before he can unleash his plague upon the world."

"Hold on, hold on," Braun said, raising his hands. "Why can't Arceus stop him? Isn't he the head honcho or something?"

"Arceus is bound to the Spirit Realm. If he were to leave, as his brother did, he could never return. Only the four of you can put an end to his plans."

"That's all fine," Wasser said, "but we can't do that now. I have to go save my mate."

"Eldryn currently resides within the body of Roth. If you can stop him, you will stop Eldryn."

Sam noticed a glint pass through Braun's eye, though his face remained solid. He was hiding his excitement well. But how could he be excited about this? Their simple plan to save some shaiyas had just become a mission to save the world!

"Fulfill your destiny. Or the world will perish." There was another flash of light, and the world reappeared around them.


	10. 9 Plans Form

**Chapter 9**

**Plans Form**

The group stood silent for a moment after Mew left. Luca laughed weakly to try and break the tension. "Hehe. Well that certainly puts a new light on things."

Braun dropped to his seat. "As far as I see, nothing's changed."

"How can you say that?" Wasser asked, also sitting down. "We have to go save the world…or something."

Braun was rarely surprised. But a talking Buizel next to him caused him to fall back slightly. "Did the Buizel just talk?"

"Yeah. So?"

"So a Pokemon speaking English isn't something you run into every day."

"I'm not speaking human."

"Then how am I understanding you?"

"Boys, enough!"

The two silenced at Sam's outburst. She even caused herself to become a bit quieter.

"Mew must have done something so that you can hear him, Braun," Luca said. "Obviously we're supposed to work together and do this."

"Let me say something else that should be 'obvious.' The only reason I'm going along with this is to make Roth suffer. I don't care about you," he pointed to Luca, "you," pointing to Wasser, "or you," pointing to Sam, "or anyone else on this god-forsaken planet. I'm doing this for me and me alone."

"Gees," Wasser grunted to the side. "Didn't anyone teach you to have a heart?"

"I was taught to ignore it," he put back.

"Please!"

They silenced again.

Luca sighed. He softly whispered to himself, "This is going to take forever." And then to everyone, "Regardless, let's just go ahead with this. Braun, since you know the most about where we're breaking into, I'll let you come up with the general plan."

Braun looked at each of them, giving them a quick scan. None of them seemed fit to break into any form of secret base. "Well, with you three it won't be easy. But I'll see what I can do."

Wasser gave him a glare, but Luca beat him to it. "How long will it take?"

"Give me an hour. I'll have a workable plan by then."

"Done."

Braun nodded and stood, leaving the other three on the ground.

Wasser looked at Luca. "You can't possibly trust this guy."

"He did get us out," Sam pointed out. "And Mew said we were destined to work together."

The Buizel looked back at the man who was now sitting facing the trees. "Well I don't trust him."

----------

Braun sat motionless for the next forty minutes. He usually did this when he was given open objectives. It was a special meditative state that his late trainer had passed to him. In it, he could visualize possible ways of executing the mission, and possible outcomes for most of them. It wasn't nearly foolproof; every mission had infinite variables that had to be accounted for. But it still helped him get a number of options.

In his mind, he floated through the walls of the base. First would be getting into the complex. The main elevator wouldn't work; it was monitored at all times. The number of service ladders could work, but they left them too far from their target to be of real use.

His mind stumbled onto a maintenance chamber a few stories below. It was a water station. He didn't know the specifics of it, but it opened up a way to get in.

There were only two ways into Sector 6, Roth's labs, outside of using the hallways. One involved using the air ducts like they had used to escape. Possible, but not very easily from this end. Another was to fake capture, a generally simple plan as long as you could escape capture on the inside. This would be nearly impossible as they would have triple security on the Shaiya this time.

That only left the hallways to get them inside. They would need some sort of distraction or disguise.

Once inside Sector 6, they'd need to get through the main lab to reach the head computer terminal. That would be their biggest problem. There was probably no way Braun could simply walk through. They would need a way to get the scientists out. Perhaps a false air leak.

Once through there, it would be smooth sailing. The computers could release the Pokemon, and they could use a chopper to escape, which was just south and up from Sector 6.

With the main route plotted out, Braun began to run through problem scenarios.

----------

Wasser paced anxiously staring at the man that still sat cross-legged by the trees. "It's been an hour. He's probably asleep or something."

"Please have patience, Wasser," Sam said gently. She was enjoying the calm of the scene, forgetting about the true carnage around her. Her eyes focused on the sky above her, which was now blue and clear with wispy clouds blowing by. "Try to relax a bit."

"Relax?! My mate is locked up in a cage! I can't relax!"

A rustling broke his train of thought. Braun stood and returned to them. "I've got a plan."

"About time." Wasser dropped to the ground, reforming their previous circle.

Braun drew a large circle in the ground between them. "This is the Centurion Complex, roughly, seen from the side. It's about fifty miles across and twenty deep." He drew another circle, close to the center. "This is where we're going, Sector 6. It's precisely ten miles below the surface."

"Hold on one second," Wasser said, throwing up his arm. "How do you expect us to get ten miles below ground in the middle of this base?"

"You're the one that wanted to do this," he answered coolly. "And I'm getting to the how."

Wasser began to steam silently, but he held his comments to himself.

Braun returned to his diagram. "About five hundred feet below ground, there's a service water station that feeds water into the facility." He drew a line down through the circles. "We'll use the water way to get down here, just below Sector 6. The system is filtered next an access panel. We'll let the water carry us down, then get out through the door."

"I may be wrong, but won't it take several minutes to get down that far?" Luca asked.

"Yes. But I have a special breathing filter with the gear I snuck out. You three will have to make this part of the trip inside pokeballs."

Wasser jumped instantly. "You can't be serious! I am not going to be put at the mercy of this idiot here. He's probably planning to put us right back in the cages for a reward."

"Wasser, sit down."

"No! This plan is ridiculous. We should just leave now." He started to turn.

Luca thought fast. "What if Wasser went with you in the water?" They all stopped and turned. "He is a water Pokemon. He should be able to make it no problem."

Braun looked at the Buizel. "That would be acceptable."

Despite wanting to slug the man, Wasser sat down.

"Good. Now, once we're inside, we'll need to split up. Two of you will need to create a distraction while the other and I make for the central computer terminal." He pointed to a spot inside the Sector 6 circle. "Once there, I can release all of the Pokemon into the facility. There will be enough commotion for us to get a few and make our escape."

"And how do we collect them and make our escape?" Wasser asked mockingly.

"There's a system through the cage networks that place Pokemon inside pokeballs automatically and moves them anywhere in the facility. We can use that. Then, we just have to get out." He drew two long lines from the top of the circle down towards the bottom. "There's a tall hanger in the center of the facility. I can have my insider use a false code to have one on standby. As soon as we're finished, we load the Pokemon onto the chopper, capture it, and fly out."

"What are our chances of success?"

"Even with our best chances, it could be as low as 20 percent. If we time it during a shift change, somewhere around 68."

Luca scowled. "Not good odds."

"It's the best you've got. If you're scared, back out now. But this is the plan that will work."

Wasser answered for him. "We're in this. I don't care what you say, we'll get it done."

"In that case, I need to contact my man on the inside. He can help us." Braun pulled over his equipment bag and pulled out a radio, which he quickly tuned.

"Wait, won't they hear us?"

"I'm using a specific frequency that's outside of normal usage." He checked the slip of paper. 18.7500. He set it to positive duplex. "No one but him and some remote controlled cars will hear us."

He thumbed the transmitter. "Code alpha zulu black."

He waited a few seconds before resending the same call. A burst of static filled the speaker, and then, "Good to hear from you again, sir."

"You too, Phil. What's our status?"

"I'm back on general maintenance. You are…" He paused. "On a flight to the Orange Islands."

He nodded. So Phil had used a fake tracer, just as he'd suspected. "Good. How are you feeling about some more espionage work?"


	11. 10 Infiltration

**Chapter 10**

**Infiltration**

Unlike the tunnel they came out in, this one was clean. The air was surprisingly fresh. A river ran next to them going extremely fast. Sam guessed that this would be how they got into the facility. Well, not her. Her ride would be in a pokeball, which she wasn't much more excited about. She had no idea what it was like inside a pokeball, and she didn't really want to know anytime soon.

Another pulse of jitters passed through her. It seemed the closer she got to actually committing, the more she felt like she had to just leave. She wasn't meant to break in to a secure prison and free shaiyas. Sure, maybe she was supposed to protect shaiyas, but not this way.

The sound of running water grew louder as Braun came to a stop. "This is it." He checked his watch. "Three minutes to jump. Better get set." He pulled out two pokeballs he'd gotten earlier from a store aboveground.

The moment they came into view, Sam stepped back. "I…I can't do this."

They all turned to her. "What?"

She shook her head. "I can't."

"You can't be serious!" Wasser said, almost at the level of a scream. "We spent hours on this. Now you're just going to back out?"

"I… I'm sorry." She turned and started to leave.

But a hand gently clutched her shoulder, stopping her. "Sam…" It was Luca. "If you don't want to do this, we can just walk away. But before you decide, think about something. All of those shaiyas down there are waiting for someone to come save them. Are you just going to turn your back on all of them?"

A series of images popped into her mind: her cage, the halls of shaiyas in cages, the Scizor reaching out to her. She promised she would come back for them. Her mind knew the truth, even though she knew she was terrified. "I have to help them."

Luca gently turned her towards him. "Don't be afraid. I'll be with you every step of the way." He brushed a piece of hair from her face.

She looked further into his eyes. In a flash of realization, she suddenly saw what she had been missing.

He loved her.

"_And I love him."_

Her mind revolted the instant the thought came. She couldn't love him! She was Feuer's mate.

"I'll see you on the other side."

There was a flash of red light and Luca's body vanished. Before she could move, her own body disintegrated around her and she could feel herself get pulled into an empty space.

----------

Once the pokeballs containing Sam and Luca were tucked into his belt, Braun pulled off his jacket. He had streamlined his gear kit to fit this type of scenario. He had silent stun grenades, a silenced pistol, and several secret surveillance tools. And of course, his breathing mask.

"Once we're in the water, it will take about two minutes to reach the pump," he told Wasser. "So just relax and enjoy the ride."

Wasser _hmphed._ "I'm a water shaiya. I live in the water."

Braun's watched beeped twice. "Time to go." He pulled on the thin mask before he stepped off the edge and dropped into the water. It quickly pulled him into the currents and down a dark tube. Wasser would be coming right above him.

----------

Deep inside the facility, Phil kept an eye on the clock as he went through the appropriate computer operations. Braun wanted limited video surveillance of them, so he would be running video loops again. Nothing major. Aside from that, he could engage alarms to clear their path, but not much else. He would have released the Pokemon himself, but that action was strictly limited to command terminals that even he couldn't hack into without detection.

Two minutes from op. time came quickly. He accessed another portion of the computer mainframe, quickly typing the command and passcode.

"Best of luck, Braun."

----------

"Sir, we have unauthorized access to Water Maintenance 7."

Roth looked up from his computer. "Who accessed it?"

"Someone on the mainframe. I can't pinpoint the exact location. Cameras show no one in that hall. Should I deploy a security team?"

"No." He twisted over to the radio and turned the dial, tuning it to another security station. "Someone get me a read on where Agent Braun is."

"One moment, sir." He heard a set of keyboard strikes. "Braun is approximately 300 miles away."

"Thank you." He turned the dial back. "Link my computer to all surveillance around that room. And get a trace on whoever unlocked the door."

"Yes, sir."

----------

It was impossible to tell when they would hit the grate. Braun just had to keep his legs loose and ready the entire ride. Once or twice he felt Wasser brush his head, but he dropped back.

Eventually, they hit the grate hard. Braun tried to cushion it as much as possible, but he could still feel his knee and the metal scream as the weight smashed into it. A moment later, the Buizel crashed into him.

But he couldn't focus on any pain now. He pulled up an arm, which felt like it weighed a ton with the rushing water, and felt along the wall. Just above his head, he found the lock. It was a small wheel. He turned it twice and the door flew open, spilling them onto the floor outside the tube. Wasser rolled and quickly turned, closing and locking the door before more water could escape.

Braun checked the room. It was a small room, lit by only a single bulb. They were completely alone. "Clear."

----------

The radio crackled again. "I'm reading two life signs, one Pokemon. Wait, make that four."

Roth was watching. The lighting was incredibly bad, but the camera made out just enough for Roth to heighten his suspicions. One of the intruders stood nearly a foot over the others and was dressed in all black. Braun had returned.

"Cancel that trace. Do not deploy any security until I say. Do you understand?"

The man at the other end paused a moment before he answered questioningly, "Yes, sir."

Roth shut off the radio and left the computer as it was. He went through a door into the main lab. About a dozen scientists, the night shift, were working on the mixture that they should have perfected yesterday.

"Everyone out." They all stopped their work and turned. "Leave. Everyone drop what you're doing and leave. Now!" A dozen tools dropped to the counters and they all filed out the door.

"If Braun wants to play a game, we can play."

----------

Braun eased open the door and peaked into the hall. No one was in site. With a quick wave, they moved out.

The hallways were surprisingly empty, even for the middle of the night. Even a little bit too empty. Phil should have been using video loops, which would keep their presence a secret, but there should have been a few people walking around.

Sam stayed as close to Luca as she could as they moved through the halls. Her mind was completely in half about the body before her. One part of her mind wanted to see him for the rest of her life. He cared for her and she cared for him. He even put her over everyone else. But the other part was completely revolted that she was even considering having feelings for him. Could she have feelings for another with Feuer gone? She still felt loyal to him.

They went through a door and up a series of steps. They still hadn't passed a single soul.

----------

Phil monitored the screens. The halls were empty. Only a few maintenance workers walked through the halls, but they didn't notice the stealthy group. It was all working out surprisingly well.

"Hello, Phil."

He spun in his chair. Roth stood in the doorway, hands tucked coolly in his pockets, two security guards behind him.

"You have some explaining to do."

----------

Braun stopped at the corner down the hall from the main lab. Two guards were always stationed outside along with the keypad for security. They would need to be removed.

"Why don't we just go and punch them out?" Wasser asked softly.

"Because we don't want them to know we're here," he answered. Then to himself, he added, "Barbarian." He gave a quick wave to Sam.

She stepped out from around the corner. "Hey guys."

They both turned. "Who are you? You're not authorized to be here!"

She turned and ran. They gave chase. Or one of them did. The other one started to pass them, but saw Braun. He slid to a stop. "Braun? What are you doing here?" He brought up a pistol.

Braun almost swore to himself. He started to rise. "Easy, buddy."

A punch flew in from the side. The guard keeled over, but Wasser quickly grabbed his head and threw him into the wall. "Sometimes you just gotta punch the guy."

----------

Sam slowed enough for the guard to follow her. She quickly turned a few corners and stopped right next to Luca. Time seemed to slow as his features changed. The colors around her began to fade and the temperature dropped. He was creating a Dimension Sphere.

She let her breath slow. She didn't like putting herself on the line. The only thing that reassured her was knowing that Luca would be on the other end to save her. And he was there for her.

A moment later, the guard ran past. The Dimension Sphere faded and they quickly ran back. They passed a knocked-out guard and ran for the door. Braun and Wasser should already be at the computer terminal.

The door slid open. She stepped through the door and froze, face going slack. They weren't alone.

"Hello, Sam."

**A/N: Only one chapter left. Make sure you come back for the season finale!**


	12. 11 Power

**Chapter 11**

**Power**

**A/N: And now for the exciting conclusion!**

"Hello, Sam."

She stared slack-jawed at the imposing man before her. They had never actually met, but she knew by the shiver down her spine who he was. "Roth."

The door behind them slid shut and locked with a click.

"So nice of you to come. I was hoping you could be the first to see."

Luca held up a hand, a sphere of blue energy appearing in an instant and flying across the room. But it never reached its target. The sphere vanished a foot from Roth's face.

"Did you really think something so trivial would do anything?"

Luca's face visibly went slack, just like Sam's.

"Perhaps you should relax a bit."

An invisible force began to press down on Luca's arm. He tried to keep it raised, but it moved despite his will until it was loose at his side.

"I don't want anything happening before the show."

----------

Braun fingers moved across the keyboard, completely oblivious to what was happening in the next room. Warning sirens blurted out, telling his handiwork. Pokemon all over the facility were now running amok. A select few, including most Buizels by Wasser's request and most from Sector 6's cages, were in pokeballs on their way to the hangar. A chopper was warming up to take them out. It would be ready by the time they arrived.

Wasser stood behind the chair. "How much longer?"

"Just let me clean up." He wanted to take every extra precaution he had available. None of the others knew about this part of the plan, and he wanted to keep it that way. He opened up a program on one of the dummy terminals, a program Phil had set up earlier. The moment the program booted, the screen went black. "Finished."

He moved away from the computer, Wasser watching the screen. "What was that?"

"Nothing. Just some extra pain for Roth. Let's go."

----------

The door slid open just long enough for them to enter the laboratory and then slid shut, locking closed. The entire chamber was now sealed.

Roth smiled. "The guardians are assembled. How pleasant."

Braun's hand flew to his pistol. But as he drew it, the piece of metal flew across the chamber, clashing against the wall. His other hand started to reach for the stuns, but it froze in place.

"Please just stay and enjoy the show, Braun."

His arms moved against his will until they were at his side. But his face held a hating scowl.

"Besides, your friend is the star."

The back wall, which was white, became clear. It was his testing chamber. Inside, Phil held his hands up to the glass.

Sam watched with shock. Braun's face, which she had only seen firm and strong, was now one that she recognized.

Roth continued his triumphant monologue. "For 2000 years I have tried to find a way to manipulate human and shaiya DNA in the perfect way. But I could never figure out how to control the DNA deconstruction. It would always result in the subject's death."

He walked over to a bar within striking distance of Luca. An aura appeared around the Halfling that stretched out to Roth, but it dissipated as soon as it touched his skin. "Don't be so overzealous, boy."

Luca's entire body lit up with pain. He howled in agony as every nerve in his body was crushed. It felt like every possible death at the same instant. Then the pain stopped, leaving Luca breathless.

"That is, until I discovered that my Mäyto race still lived. I almost had you several years ago, but that bitch Ella foiled my plan and escaped before I could capture her."

She recognized the name instantly. Ella was Feuer's mother. So he had been after them for a while.

"And now, my best agent has delivered you to me."

If his face still weren't slack from seeing Phil in the chamber, Braun would have scowled.

"Thanks to you, my formula is now perfect. My race shall rule the world, as it should."

Roth hit a single button on the computer. Sprayers in the chamber began to fill the space with a thin mist. Phil seemed to realize that he could now do nothing. He backed away from the glass, looking Braun straight in the eye. With a sullen face, he gave the man a salute. Braun was too taken in to feel a tear roll down his cheek. Phil began to cough.

"Now the formula will begin to take effect." Roth's smile was stretching far beyond any normal grin.

Phil's cough got deeper and stronger. He collapsed down to his knees.

One of the monitors set off a long whistle. Roth twisted his head, the grin vanishing in an instant. His eyes scanned the monitor in a second. "What's going on?" He turned back to the test chamber, where Phil was now on his side. "Why is it not working?!"

He spun at Sam, coming within an inch of her face. "Why is the formula not working?"

Sam was far too scared to do anything. Her body quavered, completely lost to her control.

A hand moved in a blur, slashing across Sam's face with a crack. "Tell me! Why is it not working?!"

Sam remained motionless and silent, her face turned towards the ground.

Roth began to snarl. He brought his arm around again. But this time, a white-furred hand came up to catch it. The scientist's face popped. Her entire arm was covered in white fur, tight muscle flowing underneath.

Her face lifted up. Her normally brown eyes were gone, replaced by a fiery yellow. "You will not touch her," she growled, but it wasn't entirely her voice. Hers was there, but there was another, lower voice with it.

Her furry hand thrust forward, invisible energy tearing at the air. It struck Roth through the chest, turning his body into a rocket. He smashed through the glass into the test chamber.

For a second, the only sound was Sam's heavy breathing and glass tinkling to the floor. The fur slowly receded from her skin, returning her arm to normal. Luca had felt the energy from her, yet it hadn't touched him in the slightest. "How did you do that?"

She looked over at him, her eyes also back to normal. "I didn't," she said in a quaking voice. "Feuer did."

Roth slowly lifted himself up onto his arm. She should not have been able to do that. He would just have to make her suffer more.

A mist covered his fingers and entered through his nostrils. He realized that he had already breathed the formula.

Roth chuckled. "I'm dead."

His heart suddenly seized and he fell to the floor.

The force that held all of them in place vanished. At the same time, a red light flashed overhead. "Warning: Containment Breach. Evacuate." Everyone quickly made for the door except Braun who remained rooted, eyes still towards the test chamber.

Wasser stepped back through the door. "Come on, Braun. Mission's not over yet."

"Right. Mission first." He turned and ran to join the others.

----------

The hangar was empty. Braun guessed everyone was busy taking care of the Pokemon problem. Luckily, the chopper was still ready with all of the pokeballs loaded. They all quickly ran and jumped in.

Braun went straight for the cockpit to do pre-flight. Phil's strong face repeatedly pressed into his mind, but he forced it back, putting the flight check into the front of his mind.

Another body came up into the cockpit and sat next to him. "Need any help?"

"Watch the fuel-oil mixture."

Wasser looked around the cabin until he found a small dial and readout to his right. He had no idea how to read it, but it was around the middle of the gauge, so he guessed it was good. "I'm sorry about what happened to your friend."

"He wasn't my friend." He continued setting switches.

Wasser looked over at him. "Don't give me that crap. You may think you're some sort of tough guy, trying to keep all of your emotions down, but you can't hide what you really feel."

Braun stopped partway through doing something on the overhead. He slowly let his arm come down. "He was a good man. He stuck with me through everything. There was nothing he wouldn't do."

"He died fighting for a good cause. Without him, we wouldn't have gotten so many Pokemon out of here," Wasser said gently.

The gentle sadness in Braun's eye vanished again, replaced by his usual determination. "Let's get this bird in the air."

Luca and Sam went to the rear of the large chopper. The pokeballs took up most of the cabin, but there were still a few seats by the doors. They each took a seat on either side and waited for Braun to take them out. But after several minutes, Luca couldn't stand the silence. He pushed himself up and stepped to the other side, sitting beside Sam. "What happened back there?"

Sam's eyes didn't move. They stared out through the metal walls to some far-off object. "I don't know," she said with a shake of her head. "When he slapped me, it was like a couldn't move my own body."

"He had a grip on all of us. None of us could move."

"No, not like that. I could move; I _did_ move. But it wasn't actually me."

Luca waited. He couldn't really comprehend it, so he waited for her to continue.

"I felt Feuer. He was there with me. He's the one that stopped Roth. I was only watching." There was another moment of silence as Luca let it sink in. "Luca, I know you have deep feelings for me."

"Do you?"

She slowly looked at him. "I want to. I really want to love you." A tear fell from her eye. "But I don't think I can. Not yet." More tears fell and she started to whimper.

He reached an arm over her shoulder to comfort her, but she shrugged it off, so he took it away.

As much as she wanted to feel the warmth, she couldn't accept her savior's protection.

The chopper slowly lifted from its pad, taking its precious cargo to freedom.


	13. Interregnum

**Interregnum**

Emptiness. He relished the emptiness. Because where there was nothing, he was everything: the god he deserved to be.

"I really must thank that girl," he spoke. He spoke to no one but himself. But that was all the better. "First she gives me her blood, now she gives me power to control it."

Now, there was nothing to do but wait. But after several thousand years, what was another day?.

"All according to plan."

**----------**

**A/N: Did I have you fooled? Do you really think I would end a story that way? Not even close. This is only the end of Part 1. Part 2 will be coming soon, so keep up with my profile, where you'll see when it will premier.**

**Now leave a review!**


	14. 12 The Path I Choose

**Chapter 12**

**The Path I Choose**

**A/N: Welcome back, Shaiya fans. I'm not going to bother with much so that we can just jump into the story.**

**The section in italics is a flashback.**

The attendant stepped lightly into the office. He stopped just inside the door and bowed.

"Enter."

He straightened and walked forward at the voice. The body was hidden behind a large chair.

He set a manila folder down onto the desk. "The Centurion complex is reporting that most of the Pokemon have been contained. But a great number of them have mysteriously vanished. A chopper took off from the facility without authorization. We believe they were taking the Pokemon."

"Are they also the ones responsible for Doctor Roth's death?"

"We believe so. One of them has been identified as former agent Braun."

Giovanni paused. He was well known to be an intelligent man, very well reserved and not one to go to extremes. So his next order came as a great shock to the attendant.

"Contact Echelon and Olympus. Send the Hunters."

----------

The air was cool, sending small shivers up her legs and arms. The fire added some warmth to the night, but the chill still permeated the space.

Adding to the cold was her sense of being alone. And yet she wasn't alone. Luca sat next to her. Across the fire was Braun. Wasser was off somewhere with his mate, recently reunited. And somewhere inside herself was her own mate, Feuer.

Her mind had been in a tumble the entire day. Discovering that Feuer still lived somewhere inside her gave her a new feeling of strength and comfort. But she also felt a deep betrayal. There was no way that she could deny her growing feelings for Luca.

She had to find some answers. If she didn't get this straightened out, how could she do anything? But she also knew that she couldn't straighten it out alone. She would need advice.

----------

"So what do you think you'll be doing now?" Luca asked to Braun.

"I never really know. I'll probably become a bounty hunter."

"That would certainly fit you." He looked over at Sam, who was just next to him. She was looking deep into the fire. She had held a similar look for most of the day. "What about you?"

For a moment, he thought she hadn't heard him. But then she answered, "I need to go home. There's someone I know that can help me."

Luca understood. Finding out that you dead mate was still alive, however slightly, would be enough to rattle anyone. "Ok. I'll go with you. We can leave tomorrow morning."

"No, Luca." She finally brought her eyes away from the fire. "I really need to do this alone."

He saw the pain in her eyes. It was hurting her just as much as it was he. But he loved her. And if she wanted to be alone, he would do that to make her happy. When he couldn't find the words to just say it, he nodded.

She leaned over and kissed him lightly on the cheek. After a second, she turned over the log and walked off into the woods.

Luca turned after her. "Be careful!" He watched until her silhouette vanished into the shadows.

----------

"The female is leaving. Should we follow?"

"Negative. Our focus is Braun. Keep the circle tight."

----------

The space became a little more silent after she left. Luca slowly turned back around, peering into the belly of the fire as she had done.

Braun eventually broke the silence. "You care for her."

It wasn't a question, but he felt like it needed to be answered, so he nodded, "Yes."

"You shouldn't. Emotions only get in your way."

"And how would you know?" Luca fired back. "It seems like you never felt any in the first place." The moment it was uttered, he wished he'd kept it to himself. He didn't need his aura to see the hurt hidden deep in the man's eye. "Forgive me. I didn't mean to be so harsh."

He was about to ask what he could have lived through that would make him into the man without emotion. But he saw that he didn't have to. It was written in Braun's very eyes.

_The fire raged only feet in front of him. But he couldn't run back in because of the thick arms holding him back. Tears streamed down his face. He could hear the screams of his mother and father through the raging inferno._

_He held her hand tightly, desperate to do anything, yet able to do nothing. He kissed her again, feeling her life fade before his tear-filled eyes._

_A bloody knife was clutched in his hand. His breath was the only sound left in the club. His eyes drilled into the head of the man that now lay across the floor, pool of red blood spreading below him._

"When you've been through as much as I have, you know that emotions are a nuisance that shouldn't be felt."

That was enough to cause Luca to reenter their state of quietness.

----------

"It looks like they've entered Level 5."

"Get ready to move in."

----------

Braun spoke again after a few seconds, but this time it was in a whisper only just loud enough to carry over the fire. "Luca, don't get startled, but I don't think it's safe to be here anymore."

Luca straightened slightly. He started to turn and look through the woods.

"Don't alert them." Braun sent his senses through the trees. "We'll need to break for it as soon as they make their move."

"When is that?" he asked, keeping his voice just as low.

"I'll touch the log. Three seconds, and we go. My left. Just run as fast as you can and try to keep up."

----------

"Go. Fast and clean."

Jeff dropped from the tree without a sound. A small orb was pulled from a pocket that he quickly slapped against a tree.

----------

A pop came from the woods somewhere behind Luca. The sound almost scared him enough to send him running. But Braun gave a slight wave and he found the courage to stay put.

Braun's hand moved down to rest gently on the log. It was just a casual motion. Was that the signal? He said three seconds. His mind counted down.

_2 one thousand_.

_1 one thousand_.

He tore to his right, using his aura to send himself to top speed in less than a second. Braun matched him step for step. They quickly moved into the brush, crashing through the bushes. Luca had no clue who they were running from. But in the short time he'd known Braun, he knew that if he was scared, there was a reason to be. So he kept his mouth shut and just focused on running.

----------

The move completely caught them off guard. They had planned on a simple capture while their target was at ease. They hadn't expected them to suddenly run. They quickly managed to get outside of their circle.

"Follow them. Don't let them get away." He quickly jumped back up into the trees. Right now, he was playing catch-up. But that was fine. The other Hunters could care for themselves. The hunt would be more fun with only two hunters actually watching Braun. The hunt was all that mattered.

----------

They were still running when Wasser appeared from around a tree, another Buizel with him. "Hey. What's going on?"

"Don't ask. Just run." Luca grabbed his arm as they passed and pulled them both into the chase.

"Why are we running?" Aley, Wasser's mate, asked.

"I'll explain when we get the chance," Braun said without turning. "There's a river up ahead. We need to get as far upstream as possible without coming up for air."

"We can do that."

The trees parted twenty yards before the river. Everyone quickly dove in without pause. Wasser and Aley took to the front, and Braun and Luca grabbed onto each one. Holding their breath as much as possible, the group swam their way up river.

----------

They stopped at the treeline, overlooking the river. Jeff landed on a thick branch to the right. "Into the river. Very clever, Braun."

"They won't be able to stay under long. Two Buizel joined them," the one on the other side said. He didn't have a name that anyone knew; he was simply known as Black, the sniper.

"They are negligible," the one in the middle said. Lane was the rookie of them. He'd only been a Hunter for 2 years, liking to focus on heavy recon.

"Don't be so sure," Jeff reprimanded. "He has help. That changes the entire equation. Spread out along the river. Watch for him."

They spread out, keeping an eye along the river for their goal.


	15. 13 The Hunt

**Chapter 13**

**The Hunt**

It only took about forty seconds for Luca to feel his lungs beg for air. He quickly tapped Aley's side, trying to signal her that he needed to surface. Instead, she surprised him by quickly turned and putting her lips against his. He tried to push back against her, but he felt bubbles escape along his cheek and realized what she was doing. He opened his lips, creating a seal, and breathed deeply. She gave him three good breaths before separating. Wasser did the same for Braun after much prodding from Aley.

They continued on for several minutes, stopping three times for an air exchange. But eventually, Wasser and Aley began to run short. By silent agreement, they made for the surface.

They broke the surface loudly, all gasping for the precious air. Braun's eyes scanned the trees as they swam to shore. They had gone a good distance upriver, hopefully further than they would guess. "We should be safe for a little bit."

Soon, everyone was on the shore lying against trees. Braun wouldn't let any of them go into the sun to dry. They would be too easy to spot.

"Just who are we running from?" Wasser asked.

Braun kept his eyes on the trees. "The Hunters."

"Hunters? You mean like poachers?"

"No. Worse. Team Rocket Hunters."

"I've never heard of them," Luca said. "Just what are they?"

"Hunters are the best. They do everything that Recon and Pick-up can do, but alone. They have the best equipment and are trained to kill in every imaginable way."

"But why would they be after us?" Aley asked.

"Probably that little stunt we pulled back at the base," Luca said.

"Little stunt? Wasser, what have you done now?"

Wasser visibly cringed. "It was nothing, honey. We just took care of a few things, that's all." He gave a quick slash over his throat at Luca.

"We are going to have a talk later," she said, giving him a firm glare.

"I doubt they're actually going to kill us, though," Braun went on. "Black can shoot a fly from a mile away. If they wanted us dead, they'd have done it already."

"So they want to take us alive," Luca finished. "That helps us a bit."

"And they don't know where we are," Aley added.

"They will." Braun looked back towards the river. "One of them is probably at this point at the river already. They'll find our tracks. Even if we cover them, Lane will find something and come straight for us."

"You seem to know a lot about these Hunters," Wasser said. "Just how do you know so much?"

"I was one of them."

----------

Jeff stopped on the other side of the river. He had a perfect view of them. The fools had actually stopped running.

He debated for a moment if he should contact the others. He could simply watch them for now. If they allowed it, he could take Braun for himself. But that most likely wouldn't be the case. So he clicked his radio. "I have them. Level 2."

"Roger. Moving to your coordinates."

He stayed squatted on the branch. They would pick recon positions when they arrived. The next several hours would be spent watching and waiting. And wait he would. He had all the time in the world.

----------

"Well, that should give us a bit of an advantage," Wasser said.

"Three on one hardly seems like an advantage."

"You're not in this alone, Braun," Luca added. "We're here as well."

"Yeah. We've got your back."

"Oh no, we don't," Aley said, grabbing Wasser's arm. "Wasser, how can you think about doing this? I know you're reckless, but going up against humans?"

"Aley, please." He took her hand in his. "This man helped me to save you. The least we can do is return the favor." Her face didn't budge. "Please, Aley. I need to do this."

She searched his eyes. "I don't want you getting killed."

"I won't." He touched his forehead to hers. "Go upstream until you get to the first lake. Wait for me there."

They stayed in contact for another second. Then she lifted her head to look back into his eyes. She back up to the river, maintaining eye contact with him until the last second, when she turned and dove into the water.

"So how do we go about taking care of these Hunters?" Luca asked when Wasser returned to the group.

"_We_ don't. I'll handle them."

"Then what are we supposed to do? I just gave my mate the whole shpeal about helping you out."

"You will be my eyes and ears." He turned to Luca. "You are part Riolu. I need you to listen to the forest's aura and tell us if they ever get close."

Luca put his hands up. "Hold on. I'm not that good. Tuning to the forest's aura takes all of my concentration. If I'm doing that, I can't do anything else."

"Then you'll be doing that as soon as we get camp set up." Braun pushed himself to his feet. "We should find shelter. There's a storm on the way."

----------

"They're moving out, heading south."

Jeff waited for them to completely leave his sight before following. Braun was looking for shelter. Of course he was; anyone would with an approaching storm.

But Jeff knew several advantages this would give them. Most natural shelters, such as caves, could easily become cages. When they became calmed enough, things could easily turn in their favor.

But surely Braun would also know this. So why was he going straight into a trap that he was completely aware of? Or was that his plan? Perhaps he thought that the other Hunters would know he knew, so they would go searching for a man that would not move, and thus escape by not escaping.

Braun had always provided fascination for Jeff. They had actually met once before, which was quite rare for the Hunters. Both were after the same man in the Orange Islands. But only one would actually succeed. In the end, Braun left with the prize. He had been the superior mind that day.

But Jeff had become stronger. He prayed that Braun was also not the same man.

The hunt continued as long as the target evolved, thus forcing the hunter to evolve.

And nothing was as important as the hunt.

----------

The group stumbled upon a large cave just as the clouds started to blot out the moon. The patter of rain could be heard in the distance and approaching rather quickly. In a rush of activity, they gathered several armfuls of wood and moved into the cave. Only minutes later, they had a fire warming the space as the rain fell outside.

"Alright. We should get some sleep," Braun suggested.

Wasser looked up from the fire. "Won't they come and get us if we're sleeping?"

Braun shook his head. "No. The rain would splatter of them. Their feet would slosh on the ground. Sneaking up on someone in the rain is nearly impossible, even for Hunters. We'll be safe until morning."

While the others rested their heads on rocks, Luca sat with his back against the walls. Unlike them, he had trouble accepting that they were safe. His mind focused to the world around him. His warm fur grew along his body, but it provided little comfort.

That night, he slept with one eye open.

----------

They remained in the trees as soon as the rain began to fall. The heavy foliage prevented the heaviest drops from splattering off of their harder layers.

Jeff knew what Braun was thinking. He was thinking that the rain would keep them safe. In reality, it was only a minor problem. A few well-laid rocks and branches would make an adequate bridge.

But where was the fun in that?

"Should we move in?" Black asked from the other side of the clearing. He was asking Jeff.

"No. Let's wait until morning."

Moving in now would end the hunt. He wanted the hunt to continue.

**A/N: A slightly shorter chapter, but it gives a little deeper look at the Hunters, which I know some of you wanted.**

**Please leave a review before you leave.**


	16. 14 Reunion

**Chapter 14**

**Reunion**

Even with a late-night bus, it took until the early morning hours for her to reach Veridian City. But once she got there, it was only a few miles to the edge of her former home. She took the time to relish the feel of being free in the woods. Here, with the smells of the plants and the calm calls of the shaiyas, was the most peaceful spot on the planet she'd ever known.

When she caught the first scent of her destination, she changed into her true Eevee form. Humans near the village had caused problems before. She wouldn't want that to happen on her account.

The one she was hoping to find would probably be in the East Woods, so she headed in that direction, leaving her clothes behind.

Just when she thought she was getting close, she heard a shrill cry. A moment of panic went through her spine. It was a pained cry, that she knew. But that would mean danger could be close by. Despite that, she went towards the cry.

As she got closer, whimpers and grunts of pain grew in strength. She almost passed the shaiya completely. The Monferno was writhing in the grass. Its chest had a long gash from the left shoulder down to the belly. It spotted her. "Please, help me!" he begged through clenched teeth.

She stepped over to him, strangely unsure of what to do. She started to reach a paw out over his chest when a greenish light spread down her arm. It surprised her, but she recognized it and remembered. She dropped her paw closer, holding just over his chest. The light fell from her hand and washed over his body; the large cut slowly stitched back together, leaving a streak of blood through his fur but no scar. His breath became stronger and his muscles relaxed. When the wound was completely healed, the light faded.

She stepped back as he sat up, feeling a hand over his chest. "Wow. How'd you do that?"

She couldn't come up with a good response, so she just shrugged. "It's just my thing, I guess."

"Rone?" An Infernape came through the trees, a large collection of Infernape and Monferno in tow.

Sam's eyes lit up when she saw the leader. "Ella."

The older shaiya seemed quite surprised. "Sam? What are you doing here?"

The response wasn't exactly what she'd expected, and she stalled for a second. "I came to talk with you."

Ella pointed back deeper into the woods. "Wait at my tree. I have to help Rone, and then we can talk." She jumped past Sam and over to the other Monferno that she just helped. The others quickly pressed in, forcing Sam away.

She turned and walked off with a reluctant sigh.

Most of the space in the East Woods was a light forest with thick trees and very little ground cover. What patches of ground cover there were were most often used as berry groves.

Her memories of the place quickly came back as she entered the main portion of the East Woods. She had only been here twice. But she remembered where Feuer had lived. Hopefully his mother hadn't moved since they'd gone away.

It was a little trickier then she thought it would be, but she found the correct one. The trees here sported thick branches down the entire trunk, so it wasn't terribly difficult for her to jump her way up the tree. Several young Chimchar watched her as she climbed. Most Eevees, herself included, had a small fear of heights, so she was thankful when she finally reached the large hole into the tree's center.

Ella had somehow managed to beat her there and was waiting inside. "Sam. I'm sorry if I sounded harsh out there. It's so good to see you." She leaned down and gave Sam a hug, which was readily returned.

"It's good to see you too."

They went further in, sitting on beds of thick grass. "So what brings you here?"

Now that she was here, the words she had been rehearsing suddenly left her. "I need some advice."

Ella nodded. "About Luca, right?"

Sam was thrown by the question. "You know?"

The older woman smiled. "I've been keeping an eye on you. Just to make sure you weren't in any real trouble. It seems you've been doing very well."

"Thank you. So…I guess you already know what I'm going to ask then."

Again she nodded. "Luca is a good man. He loves you. I know you loved Feuer, but it's been nearly three moons since he passed on. There is no shame to feeling the need for another mate."

"But Feuer's not dead." Ella paused at the statement, searching her quizzically. "You don't know?"

"No. Come here." Ella stepped next to Sam and knelt to her knees, placing her open hands to either side of Sam's head. With a deep breath, the Shaiya closed her eyes and focused.

Sam sat for a few awkward seconds. If something was happening, she couldn't feel it.

And then Ella pulled her hands away. A tear suddenly appeared in her eye.

"He's there?"

"Yes." Ella stepped back, sitting again on the grass. "I can see your predicament. Though really, the question remains as to whether Feuer is still 'alive'."

Sam stepped forward into the space between them. "Is there a way you can let me talk with him? I think we can work this out together."

"I can do that." Ella's hands came back up to Sam's head.

This time she could feel something, a pull on her thoughts. She let it take her away. Ella and the tree around her faded into blackness. In its place, someone else appeared, starting as a vague cloud of color and then condensing into a body. She recognized the Chimchar instantly.

"Feuer."

She sprinted towards him and he ran towards her. Her body lengthened as she did. He grew to match. They were both fully human when they threw themselves at each other. Her arms wrapped around him, pulling his body close against her. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you, Feuer."

"I'm glad to see you too." He leaned down and kissed her hair, returning her affection.

For several minutes, she just held him. Just feeling him again made her forget everything that had happened. They were together; everything was right.

"Sam, we have to face this eventually."

"No. Please, just hold me."

He gently pulled her head up and kissed her. "I love you, Sam. But you can't just ignore reality."

"No, Feuer." She started to feel tears. "I can't let you go."

"Don't do this, Sam," he pleaded. "I love you, but I can't give you the love you deserve. Luca can. And you love him. Don't hurt yourself on my account. I will not love you any less for it."

She couldn't reply, because here, deep within her own mind, she couldn't deny what he said. It was completely true.

"I must go." He kissed her forehead and looked over her again. "You have grown so much. You'll be ready soon."

"Ready for what?"

"When you're ready, you'll know."

His body began to fade, and she watched it go, strangely content, despite knowing that he was leaving. Mew appeared in the space in his place. "Guardian of the earth, listen well."

"Mew? What are you doing here?"

"Eldryn is preparing to make his move against the earth. You must stop him."

"But we stopped him already. He died in the gas. Didn't he?"

Mew shook her head. "Eldryn did not die with Roth. He retreated to the Void between the dimensions. Even now he is preparing to return to our world."

"Ok. So we'll find him and stop him again."

Mew paused for a moment. "It may be harder for you this time. For Eldryn to succeed, he must have a body that can touch all living things."

At first, Sam wasn't able to make the connection. But then an image flashed through her mind. Her muscles went slack. "No."

"Go fast. It may already be too late."

The world reappeared. Ella stepped back. Sam's body instantly went taught. "How long was I out?"

"About four seconds."

"I have to go!" She tore for the entrance and began her descent. Any fear she would have had was gone as she shot down the improvised steps. Only one thought filled her mind.

"_I have to save him!"_


	17. 15 Survival of the Fittest

**Chapter 15**

**Survival of the Fittest**

Luca scanned the forest directly outside the cave. The sun had traveled almost halfway across the sky. And yet they still hadn't spotted any sign of the Hunters.

"Anything?" Braun asked as he stepped up behind him.

He shook his head. "Nothing." One hand came up to his forehead and pressed in. The headache had started several hours ago and seemed to be getting worse. His head screamed like it was in a pressure cooker.

"What about the aura? Can you sense anything?"

"No. I'm having trouble concentrating." He had trouble concentrating on anything outside of the headache, but he tried to put it in the back of his mind. Not only did he have bigger things to worry about, but it would hopefully reduce the pain. Instead, he put his mind to their current problem. "If they're still out there, I can't tell."

"They're out there," Braun said with assurance. "The only question is when they'll make their move."

"Why don't we make the first move instead?" Wasser asked from the back of the cave, where he lounged with his feet up on a rock. "I'm sick of just waiting here."

Braun turned and walked back towards him. "And just what do you propose we do?"

"Simple. We go out, find them, and beat them back to where they came from."

Braun stopped halfway through a step and penetrated him with a slightly surprised glare. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever heard."

"That's the point." Wasser pulled his legs down and leaned forward. "They would never expect it. Right now, they're waiting to come after us. So if we take the fight to them, we'll catch them off guard." His face was suddenly beaming.

At first, the former Hunter couldn't believe the audacity of the idea. But as he turned it around, it had some merit. Assuming they were working together, they would be at strategic positions around the cave. One way or another, if Luca or Wasser could work around them, they could create enough of a distraction for Braun to step out and do some damage. Of course, the chances of success were ridiculously slim. But they could be just high enough for them to pull it off.

Wasser caught the glint in his eye. "What are you planning?"

A smile slowly spread over Braun's face. "If this works, I will be truly shocked."

"It will work. Now tell me."

----------

The anticipation was nearly killing him with excitement. They'd watched for almost 12 hours now. None of them had slept, eaten, or left to relieve themselves. And they wouldn't until the target had eluded them or they brought him in. But he wasn't concerned. They were trained to go days without normal comforts.

But he wouldn't have to go much longer. Something was about to happen. He could feel it in his bones.

"Target is leaving the cave. Heading north."

Jeff wanted to curse, but didn't. North was directly away from him. He would be playing catch-up again. "Adjust and follow."

His monitor linked to follow the other's computers. A picture of Braun strolling through the woods filled his eyepiece as he moved towards the cave. He seemed a little calm for being hunted. Did he think the chase was over? Braun was a pro. He wouldn't make such a mistake.

Another body walked out of the cave and he stopped. There were two. The Buizel and a male, who was talking. "OK. It looks like we can go now. You take the left, I'll take the right."

Jeff's mind made the connection instantly. It was a trap. He should warn the others.

Or maybe he couldn't. Computers were known to fail. He would have take Braun down alone.

The two stalked through the trees, surprisingly silent. He waited several seconds, then circled wide to watch.

----------

The aura, moments ago completely out of reach, pressed in against him like waves. It took all of his focus to understand it all without going crazy. But his headache seemed to be much worse as well.

A groan tried to pry through his lips, but he kept it down. If they heard him, Braun wouldn't stand a chance. Up until now, he hadn't seen anything that made it appear they knew. Their trap had successfully been turned inside out.

He stopped close to the base of the tree where one of the Hunters was crouched. About a hundred yards away, Braun was doing something, probably drinking from the stream. The Hunter was looking in that direction through a scope attached to a long rifle.

The time had come. Energy focused into his palm, creating an Aura Sphere. With a flick, it flew through the foliage. But it was just low. Instead of hitting the man, it smashed the branch he was on to bits.

"_Damn."_

But it wasn't all bad. The Hunter began to fall uncontrollably towards the ground with nothing to break his fall.

Adrenaline pumped through his arms. _"I've got him now."_ He dashed forward, putting more energy into his hands but in a different form.

The Hunter managed to correct himself in midair and prepared his legs for the impact, but he never got there. Two arms drove into his back, sending a sharp burst of energy through his spine. The force shot him straight into the trunk of another tree with a sickening crack.

Luca had to stop for a moment and just breathe. That was absolutely perfect. A bolt of pain tore through the length of his arm. He grunted and leaned against a tree, suddenly feeling weak. This was no ordinary headache.

----------

Wasser stopped under the brush. Up above him, a man in a full black suit was crouched on a thick tree branch. He was looking into the distance, where Braun would be.

He should do it now before he left. He drew in a breath, his mouth going cold.

A cracking sound from his right took the Hunter's attention.

He let his Ice Beam shoot. The man saw it, though, and quickly leapt from the branch to the ground, rolling behind a tree.

The space stilled. Wasser froze as he waited for the Hunter to step out. Braun had warned to play by their rules, so he did nothing to give away his position.

Metal pressed to the back of his head. "Don't move."

He practically jumped out of his skin. But he didn't move a muscle beside an initial flinch. The man was fast. And now he was in serious trouble.

If Wasser tried to spin and nail the guy, he would be dead before he could connect. His faithful direct approach wouldn't work.

What would Braun do? His eyes drifted downwards between his legs. The man was standing about a foot back. Perfect. He kept his head low and formed a ball of churning water in his mouth. He spit it onto the ground directly between his feet. It popped into a massive wave that washed over the Hunter. The gun rang out, but it went straight into the trees. With a quick turn, Wasser shot another Ice Beam into the wave, freezing it solid with the Hunter trapped inside.

Wasser stood and looked over it. It was a wall of solid ice with a flailing man frozen inside. "Not very clean, but I like it."

----------

Jeff couldn't help but laugh. It seemed he and Braun were the only competent ones on the planet.

And speaking of Braun, it was time for him to say hello.

----------

Braun had turned and begun searching the trees the instant he heard the crack of wood. A gunshot had sounded out a minute later. But he still couldn't see anything in the trees. He doubted they would have been able to eliminate both, but even if they had there would be one more. So where was he?

"Hello, Braun."

He didn't turn around to the voice. "Jeff. Good to see you again."

"I wish I could say the same." There was click as a pistol was cocked.

"You aren't going to kill me," Braun said coolly. He turned around to face the man.

Jeff was crouched across the stream on a large rock, pistol pointed level with Braun's chest. "No? Why is that?"

"If you wanted me dead, Black would have done it at the campfire last night. Giovanni obviously wants me alive."

The entered a silent stare-down, daring each other to make a move. Jeff made one first. He pulled the pistol back up to his ear with a smile. "And that is why you are a Hunter, Braun. Or were."

"So why are you here now?" He started to walk in a circular path around Jeff. There had to be a better angle he could use. "Showing yourself ends the hunt."

Jeff remained on the rock. "Too true. But sadly the hunt ended when your friends eliminated the others."

Braun stopped. They had actually succeeded?

The other man caught his surprise. "I know. Shocker, isn't it? Though really, you and I are the only ones strong enough to be Hunters. Isn't that right?"

Braun resumed his walk, stepping over the small stream. "Don't patronize me." He studied the man closely, observing body posture, facial muscles, even breathing pattern. He wasn't getting much. But he had to keep the man on edge. "So why don't we just finished what we started?"

Jeff looked over at him with a cocked eyebrow. "Whatever do you mean?"

"Shamouti Island. Four years ago. Class 3 executive target. Surely you remember." Really, Braun was just pulling from a hat. It was a slim chance, but hopefully he would still have a grudge.

Surprisingly, Jeff smiled. "Oh, that. I had nearly forgotten."

By now, Braun was almost behind Jeff. He dove forward, one hand going for the pistol, the other for Jeff's neck. But Jeff slid out of the way, dropped the pistol as he did. Braun grabbed the pistol from midair and planted one foot on the rock just as Jeff spun around, facing him. He pulled the trigger. The bolt clicked.

But nothing else happened. Jeff smiled. "You need to learn some new tricks."

Braun felt it now. The clip was completely empty. That was a good play on Jeff's part. But he did have something new; familiar words gave him an idea. "How about something old fashioned?" He tossed the pistol casually at Jeff.

Jeff became surprised for a moment as one hand reached out for the gun. But that moment left him open. Braun shoved off the rock and swung an arm around the pistol to come in from the side, connecting with Jeff's temple. The man dropped like a sack.

Braun caught his feet to stand over the man. "Sometimes you just gotta hit the guy."

Wasser stepped out of the woods right then. "Nice hit, Braun."

He laughed. "Your idea." His eyes searched the woods. "Were's Luca?"

----------

Sam stopped the car and practically spilled out. The gunshot had come from just up ahead, through the trees.

"_Oh, Arceus, please don't let me be too late."_

**A/N: Once again, the reviews have waned. Would everyone please leave me a review so I can know how I'm doing? Thanks.**


	18. 16 Touching the Heartless

**Chapter 16**

**Touching the Heartless**

Sam practically spilled from the car. The gunshot had come from just up ahead, through the trees.

"_Oh, Arceus, please don't let me be too late."_

The tree limbs grabbed at her clothes, trying to stop her, but she ran on, letting her clothes tear. She didn't care. She only cared about getting there.

She had to save him.

She burst into the clearing and slammed into Braun before she knew he was there. He quickly caught her. "Sam? What's wrong?"

Her eyes didn't give him a passing glance. They only scanned the forest. Wasser was there too, but Luca wasn't. "Where's Luca?"

"We've been looking for him," Wasser said. "What's wrong, Sam?"

"We have to find him."

A moan reached her ears. And then it quickly changed to a bloodcurdling scream. In an instant, she was tearing back through the foliage, Braun and Wasser close behind her. She could just make out his blue fur through the green, locked onto it, and ran.

She pulled up when she broke into the space. There was an area of fewer trees, but the treetops covered it, creating a shady grotto. On the far side, Luca was facing away from them almost doubled over in his Riolu form. His hands were clutching the side of his head. He was screaming, but more softly.

Her pause to take in the scene to a moment and then she was rushing towards him. "Luca!"

"NOO!"

She froze. He hadn't moved as he spoke.

"DON'T…" His words were through clenched teeth. "STAY BACK!"

As she watched, she could see parts of his shaking body change. The silver nubs on his hands lengthened, forming sharp points, while blood seeped from around them into his fir. The hanging clefts of black fur lengthened and slowly tore into two sections each. He was becoming a Lucario-morph, she realized, and quite forcibly. "AAAHHHH!!!" He gave on final scream to towards the sky and fell to his knees, the changes finished.

The horror abated momentarily, and she started towards him again. "Luca!" She got halfway across when a sound stopped her. It sounded like laughter, dark laughter. And it was coming from Luca. "Luca?"

"Hehe. Hehehe. Haha." He began to laugh louder, until he threw his head back and released a sickening cry of ecstasy. "AHAHAHAHA!!!" For a moment, Sam caught a glimpse of Luca's eye. His look was filled with pure madness.

His laugh faded and he stood, strangely strong for just suffering extreme pain. "Ah, that's much better."

Any desire to embrace him faded from Sam's body. A dark cloud had noticeably come over him, and it wasn't the shade of the trees. His very voice sent a shiver down her spine.

And then he turned and pierced her a cold stare that drilled into her soul and she knew.

She was too late. Her body went numb.

Braun reached for his pistol as Wasser took a step back. "Luca? What's gotten into you?"

"Your friend isn't home. He was quite a fighter, but I'll be using his body from now on."

Now Braun drew his pistol and leveled it. "Who are you?"

Luca smiled wickedly. "Don't you recognize me? It was only a few days ago we met."

His pistol arm remained tight, but his face began to shake. "Roth?"

"Oh, so close. Yes, I am Roth. I am also Fena, Yung, and Shlërin. And now I am Luca."

Wasser made the connection first. "Eldryn!"

Luca pointed to the Buizel. "Bingo. Two points for the stupid one."

Sam still hadn't moved from her spot. She simply stared on at Luca with empty, crying eyes, her soul lost in sadness.

Braun reset his face. "You get out of Luca's body now."

"Or what? You'll use that peashooter? I think not." He started to walk forward.

"Don't move!" Wasser breathed in and shot an Ice Beam, careful not to hit Sam. But as the beam approached Luca, a bluish aura appeared around him. The energy struck, but spread around him, chilling the air and creating a mist. Luca remained untouched.

Braun adjusting his aim and sent a bullet towards his shoulder. Luca's shoulder twitched visibly, like a horse twitching at a fly, but that was all. He didn't slow down or scream in pain. Casually, he brought his hand up and dropped something. The bullet fell to the ground with a soft _clink._

All the while, he kept his eyes on Sam. She stood like a statue. Inside, she was weeping uncontrollably. Luca was gone. Feuer was gone. Everyone she loved was gone.

He reached her and stopped. His hand came up and gently brushed her cheek. "And you, fair Shaiya, are the one responsible. If it weren't for you, the world would still be peaceful."

The voice broke her from her trance. She slowly looked up. The eyes were still full of madness, but she couldn't see it. The emotions suddenly came over her. She reached up, grabbed him by the head and pulled him down and kissed him.

Eldryn became pleasantly surprised, so he just let her go.

She broke away and pulled his body closer to her, the tears coming faster. "Please don't leave me, Luca. I love you. You can't go. Please."

Eldryn wanted to laugh. The mighty Shaiya was reduced to dribbling. How pathetic.

"I love you, Luca. Please come back."

Something hot probed the back of Eldryn's mind. Luca was trying to fight back. He squashed him back with barely a thought. But he retaliated, coming back even stronger. Then Eldryn felt another heat, burning just as bright but a completely different essence. This, too, he tried to press back, but it broke through his hold and grew stronger. The two flames stretched for each other, pressing in on him. Eldryn fought back, trying desperately to maintain his control, but they quickly overwhelmed him. They touched and a radiant light spilled over him, burning his skin. He forced himself to withdraw.

Luca's body suddenly convulsed. A dark shadow fell from his fur. For a moment, he went limp, but then he caught his feet. Luca leaned into the contact, returning her comfort. "It's ok. I'm here."

She whimpered. "I don't want to lose you."

He kissed her head. "I love you, Sam. I'm not going to leave you."

Braun and Wasser were now thoroughly confused. "Will someone please explain to me what's going on?!"

Something flashed above them. "The bond between you is strong." They all spun, Braun training his pistol, but relaxed when they saw Mew. "That is good. You will need each other to stop Eldryn."

"We stopped him already," Braun said, sliding his pistol back into the holster. "Just how many times do we have to 'stop' him?"

"Eldryn cannot be truly killed in this realm. You must go the Void and finish him for good."

"Right. So take us there."

"I cannot. There is but one that can get you there. You must seek Rayquaza, Guardian of the Sky. Shout your name to the Heaven's Winds. He can help you." Mew vanished in another flash.

After a moment of silence, Wasser laughed and sat down. "This just gets crazier and crazier."

"Tell me about it." Braun sat next to him, leaning back against the tree.

Wasser gave him a sideways glance. "What happened to that emotionless assassin?"

Braun thought for a moment. "I think he died with Roth."

Luca kissed Sam again. "So you love me?"

She looked up at him. "Yes."

"What about Feuer?"

"I love him too."

Luca just gave a silent nod. He understood if she still loved him. But he was happy that she could love him as well.

She held him tight, enjoying the silent calm.

----------

Eldryn floated at the treetops, looking down on them, invisible to the world. He knew they would come for him. Arceus's pets always did. But he was more than ready. The Void was his realm.

"Come and get me, Guardians. I'll be waiting."

He faded away with a slow lingering laugh.

**A/N: Wow. I really liked this chapter. But it's not over yet. This would be a good place for a section break, but I'm not going to. We're just going to power on through to the end. So stay tuned.**

**WHY DOES NO ONE REVIEW?!**


	19. 17 Search for a Guardian

**Chapter 17**

**Search for a Guardian**

The four now had an even bigger task at hand, one that seemed nearly impossible to Wasser. "Rayquaza lives in the upper atmosphere. How are we supposed to find him?"

"You heard Mew," Braun said "Shout your name to the Heaven's Winds."

"Yeah, well I haven't a clue what that means and I doubt you do either."

Unlike they had been a few days ago, their banter didn't have a hint of sting to it. They had come to trust each other and know that there was nothing between them.

Sam smiled listening to them. She walked behind them with Luca, who clutched her hand gently in his own. Feeling him filled her with a pleasant sense of content. It was probably the most content she'd felt since Feuer's death. And she didn't feel the same pang of sorrow that she normally would have. Instead, thinking of him only brought out sweet memories that lingered long enough for her to remember how he made her felt, but faded before she could really miss him.

He caught her looking out into space. "You ok?"

She blinked, the images vanishing and a smile replacing them. "Yeah."

He returned her smile.

"How much further are we planning on going?" she asked to no one in particular.

Braun reached the top of a small rise in the path and stopped. "We're here."

A cold, wet breeze hit her face as she stepped over the hill. In the distant, a bright blue sea spread as far as she could see. Clouds of Wingull could be seen even from this distance. A city, slightly smaller than Saffron, sat next to the water. Just beyond the city, several white cruise ships floated in the water. Vermillion City: Sam recognized it from travel postcards. "Why are we here? Isn't this a resort city or something?"

"It is," Braun said. "But it's also the main ocean hub to Kanto. There will be a few sailors that might be able to give us a clue about what the Heaven's Winds are."

They made the rest of the half-hour walk silently, letting the sounds of the city slowly overtake them. The Wingull created a high-pitched cry that seemed to never take a pause. Even the city couldn't drown it out.

The edges of the city seemed to be the more average types of small suburbs: apartments, one-business buildings, etc. But as they got closer to the city center, it began to look like Saffron, though the buildings were quite smaller. Further towards the water, more hotels and specialty restaurants took up the blocks. That area was the resort section, which easily took up half of the city.

They stopped at a hotel just within the resort lines for a room. Luca ordered two rooms by unspoken consent from the others, one for Sam and one for the guys. But they still had half of the day to spend.

"I know this great bar a few blocks over," Luca suggested. "You want to go grab a bite to eat?"

"I'm in," Sam said.

"I think I'll go straight for the docks," said Braun. "I'd rather not let Roth come back again."

Wasser looked around. He had never been in a real city. "I'll go with you. I want to see more of this place."

"Fine."

And so they went their own ways, Braun and Wasser heading towards the ocean to the south while Luca and Sam went towards the east.

Sam became mildly fascinated with the city as they walked. Many of the women were dressed in such small pieces of cloth they may as well have not been wearing anything. And yet they mingled with people wearing full business wear as if the other were dressed identically.

And then they were suddenly standing outside a small corner building. A blue awning ran the length of it, the words "Bud's Bar" across the window in stylized yellow letters. Compared to the modern city, the walls looked incredibly old, as if they were ready to collapse in on themselves at any second. Luca quickly led her through the front door. The inside looked much more appealing than the outside did: the walls were stained wood, with several posters and pictures. Tables were scattered around the room with a one-sided bar going along the windows and along the other side; only three tables were occupied. A wall of glass bottles lined the far wall. Sam had never been in a bar before, and it was a little strange. The smell stood out the most; it was a bit smoky, but not overwhelmingly so.

A man from behind the bar looked up, his face quickly turning into surprise. "Luca? Is that you?"

"Nice to see you, Bud," he replied as they weaved over to the bar. "How's business?"

"Thursdays are slow as always as you can see," he waved to the room. "But weekends are still jumping." He nodded his head at Sam. "Who's your friend?"

"This is Sam. Sam, this is Bud."

"Pleasure to meet you, ma'am." He reached his hand out to Sam, who took it. "Anything I can get for you two?"

Luca swung his leg over a stool and sat. "Surprise me. Nothing too strong, though."

"Two Blue Teas, coming up."

Sam sat down next to Luca, eyeing the different bottles along the far wall. They were too numerous to count. She then noticed a small sign above them that listed several specials with prices. Then she realized, "I don't have any money."

"Don't worry about it," Bud said as he poured something blue into a tall, thin glass. "Luca's money ain't good here anyway."

"Why's that?" she asked.

Luca held up a hand. "Please, Bud. You don't have to go through this again."

"Of course I do." He spun around, two identical drinks with blue fluid in his hands. "Luca can always seem to tell when a fight's going to break out. He's saved my bar twice now." He topped off each glass with a slightly amber liquid. "He doesn't have to buy another drink from me." The two glasses came up to the bar-top. "Enjoy."

"Thanks."

Sam slid her cup over to her. It had a very strong smell. When she looked over, Luca had already taken several sips of his, so she brought it up and let a few drops fall onto her tongue. It was very sweet and left a tangy aftertaste when she swallowed. She liked it.

Luca suddenly slid off his seat and patted her shoulder. "I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere."

She smiled and set her glass down. "Ok." He turned and walked off through a side-door.

Bud walked back up as he vanished, drying a glass with a rag. "Nice guy, isn't he?" Sam nodded as she took another sip. "Do you like him?"

She set the glass down with a smile. "I love him."

"So why don't you show it?" She paused, not quite understanding, so he went on. "Something's holding you back. What's up?"

She took her eyes off of him and let them settle onto the blue drink. "My mate died a few weeks ago…"

"Ah," he said, interrupting her. "Say no more. I know what it is." He pointed over his shoulder towards a frame Sam didn't see before. It was of a younger Bud and a blonde. "My wife Judy died three months after we were married. I stayed inside for weeks. But you gotta let them go. Don't get me wrong, I still love her. But if I hadn't moved on, I wouldn't have met my current wife, Sue."

When he looked at her, she had a face between horror and disgust. "How can you just do that to her?"

"You can't let the past keep you from living your future."

Before she could respond, Feuer walked back into the room and Bud went off to do his own thing. After he took his seat, Feuer asked, "Do you still have those Buffalo Wings?"

"Sure do," Bud answered with a smile. He went on, casually pretending he and Sam hadn't shared a word.

Sam ate some, but not much. She now had too much on her mind to be hungry.

----------

Unlike most of the city, the docks of Vermillion were anything but a resort. Large sections were bare concrete and metal. A few places had large piles of ocean equipment.

"Let's get out of here fast," Wasser said. "I don't think I like this place."

"Just relax. One more crew and we'll go."

They'd gone down the entire docks, asking every of the six crews currently harbored. None of them had heard of such a thing as the Heaven's Wind, but Braun didn't think any of them looked like real seamen; they were just workers aboard the cruise lines.

As they stepped around an old wood shed, a collection of flashing red and blue lights met them. A collection of police and ambulances were gathered around the last of the docks. A number of them were wearing HAZMAT suits. A yellow circle of police tape kept a small crowd back.

They shared a single glance before approaching.

"What's going on?" Braun quickly asked when they hit the tape.

A policeman held a hand out. "Stay back please."

A line of gurneys came from the ship. Bodies, struggling against tight restraints, twisted in each one.

"What's going on?" Wasser asked from below. "What's happening?" He wasn't quite tall enough to see.

Braun fought to find the words that suddenly escaped him. "Fur… He has fur." The gurney was quickly loaded into an ambulance. "Another one has scales. They almost look like Feuer."

"What? How is that possible? I thought Feuer was the only Halfling."

Their eyes slowly met as they reached the same conclusion.

"Eldryn."

"He's done it."

**A/N: Ah, the cliffhanger. Just when you think he's dead, he strikes again.**

**NOW LEAVE A REVIEW!!!**


	20. 18 The Heaven's Winds

**Chapter 18**

**The Heaven's Winds**

The sudden news added a desperate urgency to their task. The television was already full of reports of strange cases.

One station showed a helicopter's zoomed in view of several human-shaped creatures getting forcefully herded into vehicles. "The reports are coming in from all over the globe," the announcer said from the background. "Several people displaying Pokemon characteristics have already been moved to research facilities. We also just received word that one Pokemon showing unusually human characteristics was also discovered. We will have more on this situation as it develops."

Another station. "People are panicking in the streets of almost every major city. We don't really know what's causing this phenomenon, but as it continues to grow, the panic grows with it. Global stocks have already taken a 75 percent drop within the last several hours. Some cities have declared martial law, but it isn't stopping the…"

Wasser picked up the remote and shut off the TV. "Why are we just sitting here? We should be out doing something?"

"And what do you expect us to do?" Brawn asked from the next seat. "We still don't know what we need to do." He resettled back, putting his mind back into meditation mode.

Wasser sat back. "We should still be doing _something._"

Sam stepped out of the bathroom and around them. When just thinking hadn't worked, she'd taken a shower, which was one activity that she enjoyed as a human.

Luca was leaning over the balcony rail when she opened the glass door. Beyond, the city glowed brightly. Several nearby clubs could be heard dancing into the night. There was a slight chill in the air that surprised Sam.

He looked over as she stepped out. When she joined him at the rail, he wrapped one arm around her shoulders. She leaned into the contact, letting herself relax. A tingling sensation moved across her arm. Fur was growing from his shoulder. She looked up at him curiously. "It's a bit cold out here," he said simply as he finished changing. Sam rather liked his new look.

She snuggled back into his fur, leaning her head across his shoulder. "Oh, Feuer…" She took a sudden gasp a second later, pulling away from him slightly.

His eyes moved down to hers. He was surprised, that was obviously. But she could also see the hidden hurt. "I'm sorry."

His arm fell slightly. He reset his face. "It's fine." He was trying to hide it, but she could see how she had cut him. "I know you still miss him."

"No, this has to be said." She leaned away from the balcony and turned to him, forcing him to face her as well. "No matter how much I love him, I still love you. And right now, you are the one that I want to always be with."

A smile came to his face. "I know." He kissed her forehead gently. "You don't have to explain anything." He leaned in to kiss her again, but this time he came lower, towards her lips.

Before, she would have moved away from such a motion. But now she let him come to her, relishing the tingling as their lips pressed together. She unconsciously moved her other arm around him, pulling him tighter, closer. The moment turned into a seeming eternity of bliss.

And then he pulled away, looking back into her eyes. "Don't think that I will ever let you go."

She couldn't believe how relieved she was to hear those words. Everything was great. No, it was better than great. Everything was perfect.

His eyes shifted out to the sky. "Hey, look at that."

She followed her pointing finger into the distance, out into the sky over the sea. The sky, once containing only the moon and a few of the brightest stars, was now filled with a flowing green light. The sight took her breath away. "What is it?"

"It's an aurora. Radiation from the sun burns in the atmosphere, creating a green light."

"It's beautiful." The light looked like ripples, flowing and shifting. The light reflected off of the ocean, creating a surrealistic landscape of pure light. "It almost looks like…" She paused, the words suddenly firing off in her brain. "Like wind."

He looked down at her, making the connection himself. "The Heaven's Winds." He dropped back, sticking his head in the doorway. "Guys, she found it." Wasser and Braun jumped up, cramming out onto the balcony.

Braun understood instantly. "Of course. Solar winds. That was what Mew meant."

"Oh, of course," Wasser added, obliviously nodding his head. "Why didn't we think of that sooner?"

"'Shout you're name to the Heaven's Winds'," Luca quoted. "LUCA!"

They waited several seconds. Nothing.

Wasser looked around. "Should something happen?"

"I AM BRAUN!" Still nothing.

"Why isn't it working?"

"That's not she meant." They all turned to Sam. "I can't explain it, but Mew didn't mean that type of name."

"Then what did she mean?" Wasser pleaded.

She thought for a moment and looked back upward, letting her gaze become lost in the light. "SHAIYA!" A sudden wind rushed over her, nearly pushing her back against the wall. She gasped as she clung to the railing. The light above spread, coming closer. Somewhere amidst the wind, a loud roar cried out, carried by the air. She looked up through wind-pulled tears towards the sky. A dark shaped was snaking towards her from the sky. It grew in practically an instant and the wind died to almost nothing.

The wind now gone, she stood up straight, staring over the creature before her. It was long and snake-like, completely green with yellow markings. Two small hands protruded from its side. Its head was diamond-shaped, with slits holding bright yellow eyes. Its mouth was open slightly, showing two sharp teeth. It looked over her once and bowed its head. "Greetings, Shaiya. I am Rayquaza, Guardian of the Sky."

She fell silent for a moment, lost by his sheer size. Compared to him, she seemed insignificant.

"Speak your business."

She blinked, getting her thoughts straight. "I come for Arcius. I must go to the Void and stop Eldryn."

Rayquaza nodded. "You have a difficult path. The place known as the Void does not follow the laws of our world. It is a place created entirely by wills. And no will is stronger there then Eldryn's. You and your companions will not be enough to stop him. This will help you." He pulled his head back, letting out a roar to the sky. The yellow markings on his body glowed brightly, and then the light focused down towards his head. The roar became quieter with the light, focusing just in front of his mouth. With a small burst, a horn appeared in the space over his nose. When he lowered his head, it followed, staying only a few inches from the tip of his snout.

She reached out when he presented it to her. It was a horn that looked like Rayquaza with a single loop. She took it gently. It was practically weightless.

"Blow this horn and you shall call all of the earth's guardians and titans to your aid."

She held it up, putting it to her lips.

"But be warned. Whoever blows the horn must willingly give up their life or the horn will not work."

Sam suddenly thought better of it and let her arms drop. So that was the deal. Use the horn, sacrifice herself, and save the world or doom them all. Could she make that choice? She didn't want to die. But what would happen to Braun? Or Wasser? Or Luca?

"When you have attuned your heart to your friends, the portal will open. I wish you luck."

The wind suddenly blew again, this time in the other direction. Rayquaza roared as he flew back up into the sky and the light dimmed. With a sudden flash it was all gone.

Sam practically fell back against the wall, panting. Luca jumped back and caught her. "Sam. Are you ok?"

She blinked, clearing fresh tears from her eyes. "Yeah. I'm fine." She moved her hand to push herself up and heard something slid against the wall. Her hand was still clutching the horn.

"Where did that come from?"

"Rayquaza gave it to me."

"You saw him?"

"I missed him?!" Wasser screamed. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"

She shifted her gaze from one to the other. "You didn't see him?" They were all dead serious. "There was a wind and lights and…" Their faces didn't shift in the slightest. "I know how to go to the Void." She pushed herself straight, out of Luca's supporting arms. "It's just a will type of thing. We imagine opening the portal and it just happens."

"It can't be that simple," Braun said.

"I know it sounds ridiculous, but that's what Rayquaza said."

"Ok. Fine." Wasser stepped back, sticking a hand out towards the wall. "Open sesame!" The space stilled, but nothing happened. "Well that's not it."

"No, not like that. We have to do it together." To be honest, she didn't completely understand it herself.

They stepped back, forming a sort of square at one end of the balcony facing the wall. "Now focus." She put her eyes on the wall. Rayquaza said that the Void was a place of wills, so she tried to simply will the wall to open, imagining the others doing the same.

To her incredibly surprise, the wall slowly began to ripple. It rippled outward, a dark spot appearing in the middle and slowly opening. The others seemed just as surprised as she was. But before they could move, the hole shot outward, swallowing them.

Everything was dark. Sam couldn't feel anything: no cold, no air, no ground. The others were floating next to her, looking around at nothing. "It actually worked," Wasser said with a laugh.

"Persistent girl," a voice called out from all directions. It was a voice she recognized by the shiver traveling down her spine. "Your courage shall become your death."

**A/N: What a closing line. I realize some parts of this chapter seemed pretty cheesy, but deal with it. It's not that easy to write that type of concept without consequences.**

**We're getting close. You'd have to be an idiot to leave now.**


	21. 19 Eldryn

**Chapter 19**

**Eldryn**

"Persistent child. Your courage shall become your death."

Sam felt the shiver travel down her spine. He was close. But she couldn't see anything. A wave of fear passed through her body. She was completely helpless here. He could do anything to them and she wouldn't be able to stop him. And she could sense the others shared a similar feeling to various degrees.

The four floated in pure emptiness, turning slowly, trying to find the one that spoke. "Why don't you come out?" Wasser shouted, putting on a face of determination. "Or are you too scared?"

The voice laughed. "Scared? What reason have I to be afraid? I am the very definition of fear itself." Somehow, the blackness in front of them began to ripple. Something slowly materialized into the space, stepping out of the ripple like someone would step through a vertical pool of water. A leg stepped through first, though calling it a leg was the greatest stretch she had ever made. It looked more like a twisting mass of red muscle ending in a large stump. And yet just this pushed Sam's sense of fear even higher.

Then a head slowly pushed through into existence. It had a large, grotesque face. One side had skin that was pulled tight across his skull, allowing bone and tissue to show through; the other side looked like it was melting.

He continued stepping out, showing more and more of some creature spawned of hell. Claws clutched at the air from its skin. Four legs that were each twisted in their own way. A ring of bone and tentacles spun around its midsection. It had a tail that seemed to fold in upon itself in an endless spiral.

When it completely stepped through, it opened its mouth and let out a roar. But it wasn't so much a roar as a high-pitched screech that pierced straight through Sam's soul. She threw her hands to her ears to try and block the sound, but they did nothing. Her whole body shook from the sound.

The shriek faded. "You are on a hopeless path." Now the voice had a much more surreal sound: throaty grunts mixed with high scratches. "I am the god of this realm." A ball of flame materialized in front of him that quickly flew towards Luca.

Braun held an arm out towards the approaching flame. "NO!" The flame suddenly shattered, scattering around them.

Eldryn seemed to contemplate that. "Your will is strong."

Then she remembered. This place was all about one's will. Eldryn could will things to happen, but so could they. She imagined an energy ball into her palm, slightly surprised that it actually appeared, and thrust it forward towards the creature. But it only made it inches from her hand before vanishing.

"But mine is stronger."

Sam's hand instinctively clutched the horn, still held tightly in her hand. She would have to use it, wouldn't she?

Eldryn eyed her, laughing lightly. "You have the Horn of Rayquaza. You are an even bigger fool than I thought."

She brought the horn up. "I'll use this."

"Hehehe. Go ahead. Your friends will be even more helpless without you."

Luca's head turned. "Without you?"

She tried to avoid turning her head. She knew what she had to do. If she looked into his eyes, she might not be able to. Instead, she closed her eyes and pushed herself up away from him with a quick thought. She brought the horn to her lips.

A flash came through her head. All of a sudden, the horn was gone from her hands. She glanced around quickly and saw…

Herself? That was her, floating twenty yards away, horn still held against her lips. But how?

"_I can't let you do it, Sam."_

The blood drained from her face. "Feuer… NOO!"

Too late. A loud roar erupted from the horn, tearing through her. It lasted for no more than a second. A reddish haze appeared around her other body and slowly started to get pulled into the horn.

"_You're ready, Sam. You can do this. Just believe in yourself."_

And then she was suddenly back, the horn falling away from her face. If she could collapse, she would have. Instead, her whole body simply went limp.

Luca floated up next to her. "What was that?"

Her fingers and lips trembled. "Feuer… He took over… It should have been me."

Luca's hand came to her face, steadying her. "Easy, Sam. Slow down. What happened?"

"The horn needs a sacrifice."

"But you were going to…" He stopped, letting the thought hang as he understood. "Feuer."

Another roar, this one different, shouted out somewhere above them. The darkness rippled open and five large birds flew into the space, circling overhead. Wasser easily recognized Articuno, Moltres, and Lugia. Several other portals opened, large shaiyas stepping through each one: Entei, Kyogre, Jirachi, Dialga, Cresselia, Regigigas. One by one, the legendaries appeared, creating a line of bodies behind them.

Wasser stared in awe. Every Guardian and Titan he had ever heard stories about was here. Braun shared his awe.

Eldryn was feeling something he hadn't felt in thousands of years. She should be dead, taken by the horn. Yet she was still alive. He was afraid.

Sam's emotions surprised her. She'd just lost Feuer again. And yet she didn't feel as sad as she thought she should. Surprised, saddened, but not terrified. Was this what he meant? That she was ready to let him go?

A spark now in her soul lit up. Why did he have to do it? Why did she have to suffer like this? Her eyes opened and rested on Eldryn. She couldn't explain why, but hatred formed in her stomach. He was the reason. She shrugged Luca's hands from her shoulders. "Enough."

Her voice caught the attention of the others. They turned as she slowly floated down to join them.

"This has gone on long enough. Too many people have suffered because of you." A white flame appeared around her body. As if in response, a black flame erupted from Eldryn's body that was enormously larger than Sam's. "You can't just destroy everything. People have a right to live." White flames from Wasser, Luca, and Braun fused with her own, forming a larger fire, but it still wasn't big enough. She forced more feeling into her words, "You have no right," and the flame grew still bigger. "This ends now!"

The flames launched at each other, clashing in a loud bang. The black flames quickly began to press in. An enormous surge of strength pushed through Sam. The Guardians had joined in. The white flames surged, pushing the black back until they were dead even. They battled, will pressed against will, neither giving more than an inch.

For a moment, it was too much for Sam to handle. It wasn't working. She pushed with her mind, feeling every muscle in her body go tight. But they couldn't get past him. She didn't know how much longer she could keep this up and it had only lasted a few seconds.

"_Why do you try?"_ a voice asked into her mind. Eldryn. _"You don't have a chance."_

He was right wasn't he? There was no way they could stop him. Her focus faltered, and the black flames started to advance.

A hand reached over and clutched her own. She felt another presence gently brush her own. Luca. He was why she was doing this. For him and the world. For him, the world, and Feuer. She couldn't let Feuer's sacrifice for her go wasted.

"_You can do this. Just believe in yourself."_

"Feuer…" Another burst of strength, this time her own, surged forth. She pressed back, overpowering Eldryn's own will. The white flames drove straight through the heart of the black flame and engulfed Eldryn's body. He howled, his open muscles burning brightly.

Sam opened her eyes, looking through the sweltering heat that she couldn't feel. She could sense him. Through the flame, her will overtook him. She controlled him. "You will not leave this realm. You will stay here, powerless, for the rest of your miserable life. Let this realm forever be sealed, so that no one can be put at your mercy."

The flames died in midair, but Eldryn's body continued to burn. Sam suddenly felt a pang of pity for him. But then it passed. He deserved this. And suddenly she felt a wave of mild satisfaction that grew into a sense of pride. They'd actually done it. A smile played across her lips.

Wasser suddenly let out a "WOOHOO! Yeah!" Braun's face betrayed satisfaction as well. She giggled lightly at her friend.

Luca had a light smile, but didn't join in even the slightest celebration. They'd beaten Eldryn, but he didn't want to rub it in his face. "Let's go."

He still clutched Sam's hand as the darkness rippled again. This time, the hole in space came from behind them, leaving them back on the hotel balcony overlooking Vermillion City.

Wasser quickly turned for the door. "I don't know about all of you, but I think this deserves a celebration."

"I'm with you on that," Braun said.

Sam and Luca started for follow as the portal began to finish closing. They didn't see a hand, bare muscle with white burns, reach out through the closing hole.

Sam's leg was suddenly pulled back from under her. She yelped as she fell, jarring her knee, but she clasped down on Luca's hand, keeping her somewhat up. Before she could react, she was pulled back toward the portal. Luca clutched down on her fingers before she could slip, acting quickly by digging his feet into the floor. But he couldn't get traction. Sam's legs slipped into the portal. Wasser and Braun quickly jumped back out, grabbing onto Luca and the handrail. For a moment, Sam became suspended halfway between worlds.

A throaty voice shouted from the darkness, "I will not be beaten by a whelp! If I go down, you go with me!"

Sam glanced up. Luca's face was tight. But he was slowly slipping. Even Wasser and Braun wouldn't be able to hold him.

And yet she wasn't afraid.

"Hold on, Sam."

"If I do, you'll go with me." Her chest was pulled through the hole in the wall.

"I'm not letting you go, Sam."

"I know."

They shared a deep look. Luca could see her intent. "No, Sam. Don't you dare." But he could already feel her hand became smaller and furry, starting to slip.

"Thank you for everything, Luca." She forced a smile, but a betraying tear slipped from her eye. "I love you."

His grip lost traction for a fraction of a second, but it was all Eldryn needed. In one swift motion, she fell from his hand into the portal and the blackness sealed.

The men fell back into a pile, their counterbalance suddenly gone. Luca didn't stay down for an instant. He dove for the wall. "NO! OPEN UP!" He pounded a fist against the wall, cracking both it and his skin. "YOU CAN'T DO THIS, SAM! I WON'T LET YOU!" He pounded into the rock wall, leaving red spots that soon began to drip down to the floor.

Eventually, Wasser came forward and pulled him away. "Get a grip on yourself, Luca. There's nothing you can do."

Luca just stared back at the wall through his tears for several seconds before resigning himself to his tears.

**A/N: Yes. Yes I did.**


	22. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

Luca stood in silent reverence. The bright sun created a deep red hue to the space as it was reflected off the brick walls. Braun and Wasser stood at the mouth of the alley just behind him.

It had only been the space of just over a week, and yet his connection to Sam could not be overstated. He had wept the entire day after she gave herself to let him live while news reports filled the airwaves that all of the strange symptoms had vanished within hours. Eventually, he would move on just as she had moved on after Feuer. But she would hold a place in his heart that none would ever come close to replacing.

The swirling emotions became too much. He focused his aura to quell them. When he opened his eyes, he looked up towards the sky. On top of the wall, he saw a lingering blue shadow of two small creatures. The sense lasted no more than a second and was gone.

He stayed a second longer. Then with a final breath, he turned, walking past his comrades, who followed close behind.

On the wall, a small inscription had been carved.

"_In memory of Sam,_

_Who put all others before herself._

_Rest in well-deserved peace."_

_----------_

_Life is a story. Stories become History. History becomes Legend. Legends become Myth._

Many never knew the lives of the Shaiya. To most, they were another face in the crowd, another shaiya in the village, another source of power.

And yet their stories touch everyone.

After a life of ache and pain, they chose in their heart to become the ones they truly were. Forget the world. Forget the past. Forget those that say "No."

_Some Legends live on forever._

This is the choice that all must make.

This is the legacy of the Shaiya.

**A/N: Ah. That was fun. I had tons of fun writing this. I hope you all enjoyed reading it and will leave me a review saying so. Or saying why you didn't. Either way, a review would be nice.**

**But alas, all things must come to an end. I am now going to officially retire the Shaiya Chronicles. Yes, it is sad. But I think that too much of a good thing is bad and I may have already stretched the Chronicles' limits.**

**So thank you to one and all that have made the Shaiya Chronicles my most popular series EVER! You all rock!**

**Also, special thanks to Felix the Eeveetrainer, the betareader.**


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